But First Let’s Talk Acceptance Rates

While they haven’t published a specific engineering acceptance rate for the 2024/2025 cycle, they did for . More specifically, Samueli released acceptance rates for each of their 10 majors. They didn’t break down in-state vs. out-of-state rates, but as a rule of thumb, in-state rates will be higher while out-of-state rates will be lower.

You will notice that all of these rates are competitive. No matter what you are studying, you need to be a top candidate in that field. Now, some people will see that Chemical Engineering has the highest acceptance rate and will say to themselves, “OK, I will apply as a chemical engineer then!” We understand the compulsion, but we also want you to notice that only around 1,000 students applied to that major, meaning only about 170 students were accepted. While Computer Science had a lower acceptance rate, they accepted around 360 students. Chemical engineering is a very specialized major. The students who get into specialized programs have specialized resumes. We will talk more about this later, but to get into Samueli, you need a history of exploration and involvement in your major. If you are applying as a chemical engineer, you need to be an expert in chemical engineering to be one of the small groups of students to get in. There is no easy way to get into UCLA; strategy can help, but you need to put in the work to make that plan work.

Get the Grades

You may have noticed on the chart above that accepted UCLA engineers have some crazy high weighted GPAs. While they vary slightly, ideally, applicants have around (at least) a 4.6-4.7 to be competitive. This means not only getting perfect or near-perfect grades in all of your classes but also taking multiple higher-level courses such as Honors, IB, AP, Accelerated, and/or Dual Enrollment.

UCLA wants applicants with impressive GPAs and transcripts. To get these types of weighted GPAs, you need to take as many higher-level courses as possible while still maintaining excellent grades. This very much includes the highest-level math and science classes available to you, as well as challenging courses in other subjects. Grades are especially important at the UCs as they do not look at SAT/ACT scores. Your grades are the best place to show your academic ability.

Build a Niche

So remember what we said earlier about needing a resume that supports your intended major. To be a UCLA-level candidate, you need to have an academic niche. An academic niche is really just a fancy way of saying defined academic interests and a history of involvement in those specific interests. You want your academic interests to be well defined and well explored. Ideally, you can become an expert in your intended field before stepping foot on campus. There are a couple of steps you need to take to do this.

Courses and Reading

To build a strong niche, you need to know a lot about your academic interests. We recommend starting by reading books. You ��Dz�’t need to be an English major to read, and there are many great books about STEM subjects. You can supplement your reading list with podcasts, scientific journals, tech blogs, etc., but books will help you build a strong knowledge base.

We also recommend signing up for some online classes. Many universities offer pre-taped and often free courses through third parties like Coursera. You can also look into summer programs and community colleges. Taking courses outside of your school day will help you immensely, especially if you hope to do research or internships in the field down the road (which you should).

School Extracurriculars

You need to be involved in your school community, but you should also do it in a strategic way. You want to specifically join clubs that build on your academic niche. This could include robotics teams, Science Olympiads, mathletes, STEM tutoring clubs, solar car teams, computer science societies, etc. depending on your intended major. If your school doesn’t have STEM-based clubs, consider taking the initiative to start your own.

Signing up for the right clubs is just the first step. Once you have, you need to take on responsibilities and leadership roles in those activities. Just like you push yourself in your classes, push yourself in your clubs. Once a week, one-hour commitments are not going to impress UCLA. You need to commit time and effort to the clubs that matter most to you.

Out of School Extracurriculars

Ideally, you are doing impressive activities like educational programs, internships, and research all year round, but adding a mix of these types of opportunities to your summers is a must. These types of opportunities will build on your academic niche and show that you are serious about your intended major. Planning a strategic summer can be tricky. We routinely work with even freshmen to make sure their summers are working for them. If you need help, we have you covered. Contact us today!

Build Something Cool

Show off your skills by building something that you would be proud to tell Samueli about. This really could be anything (as long as it connects to your academic niche). We have worked with students who have built drones, computers, solar power systems, and much more. Engineering requires hand on skills, this is your opportunity to show what you can do. If you ��Dz�’t have all the skills right now, that is almost better. Challenge yourself and teach yourself some new ones.

UCLA is a very competitive school to get into. For out-of-state engineers it can feel particularly impossible. Take a deep breath and be ready to put the work in. If you ��Dz�’t know where to start,  whether you are a high school freshman or a college transfer, we can help with all things college applications.

Reach out today for expert guidance!

Get the Grades

If you ��Dz�’t have outstanding grades, you will not get into JHU. Sorry, but it's the truth. Last year, about 65% of admitted applicants had a 4.0 unweighted GPA, and 100% were in the top 10% of their graduating class (of students who submitted class rankings). The average submitted GPA was 3.93. All this is to say, you need perfect or near-perfect grades to be a serious Whiting applicant. However, excellent grades are kind of just the start. You also need a competitive transcript. Getting all As in easy classes will not impress JHU. Your transcript should have Honors, IB, AP, Accelerated, and/or Dual Enrollment courses on it. Ideally, as many as you can while still maintaining an outstanding GPA. For engineers, the bare minimum is to take the highest-level science and math classes available to you. However, most JHU-level candidates will also take high-level courses across subjects.

JHU is no longer test-optional. So on top of grades, you need to submit impressive scores. Last year, the school was test-optional and only around 68% of applicants submitted scores, so take the following with a grain of salt. The 50th percentile of accepted scores was either a 1540 on the SAT or a 35 on the ACT. You want to shoot for similar or ideally even better scores.

Build a Niche

Whiting offers 13 majors and 15 minors. It needs to be clear from your application which path you will pursue without even having to say it. You can do this by building an academic niche. For example, there should be a big difference between the resumes/applications of an Applied Mathematics major with a Space Science and Engineering minor and a dual major in Computer Science and Systems Engineering. Exploring your academic interests and intended field before you apply will build your niche. There are a couple of steps to creating a solid niche.

Courses and Reading

The first thing you need to do is learn as much as you can about your academic interests. We recommend building yourself a reading list. Yes, this means books, and before you say anything, there are a lot of great books on STEM out there. You can supplement your list with podcasts, scientific journals, tech blogs, etc. However, books need to be on that list.

We also recommend signing up for some engineering-related courses outside of your regular class day. Many universities offer pre-taped (often free) courses through third parties like Coursera. You can also look for summer programs at Universities or community college courses. Taking classes outside of your normal school schedule is a great way to show academic curiosity and build a strong academic niche.

School Extracurriculars

JHU-level applicants are active in their school communities. A way you can do this is to join clubs and activities. However, you shouldn’t just join clubs randomly. You want to make strategic decisions and join clubs that build on your academic niche. Popular clubs for hopeful engineers include robotics teams, science Olympiads, mathletes, STEM tutoring clubs, solar car teams, computer science societies, etc.. While this list changes based on your exact niche, STEM-based clubs are the right place to start. If your school doesn’t offer the right club or clubs for you, ask about starting one!

Just signing up for clubs won’t really be enough for Hopkins. You need to push yourself in your activities, just like you do in your classes. Just being a member of the Robotics team won’t impress Whiting. Being the co-captain is better. Being the co-captain who leads your team to regionals? Now, we’re starting to talk. You want to commit time and effort to the clubs that mean the most to you. Ideally, you can take on responsibilities and leadership roles in those clubs as well.

Out of School Extracurriculars

Just like your in-school clubs, your out-of-school activities should strategically build up your academic niche. While you can do this all year round, summers are especially important. Trust us, we routinely work with students as early as freshman year to make sure their summers are working for you.

There are a lot of opportunities that can help build a great summer, but JHU-level students will usually complete a mix of academic summer programs, internships, and research that all connect to their academic niche. For example, if you want to study Computer Science, the summer after your freshman year maybe you took a summer course at a university about Python. After your sophomore year, you interned at a tech start-up, and the year after, you taught programming at a local community center while helping a professor do research. This would be a solid summer resume (and honestly, you could even do more!) There are many opportunities out there; if you need help strategizing your summers, we have you covered! Contact us today!

Build Something Cool

You need to cap off your resume with something impressive. Engineering can require skills from programming to design to soldering. You can show off which ones you have by building something you would be proud to tell JHU about. Most of our students do this both during the year and the summer. We have worked with students who have built drones, computers, solar power systems, and much more. If you need to teach yourself some new skills to pull off the project, that is even better. Challenge yourself and see what you can create!

Apply Early

Earlier, we said that JHU’s acceptance rate was around 6%. However, that ������’t really the full story. That is their overall acceptance rate. Their early decision acceptance rate was more like  11.7% (meaning their RD rate is even lower than 6%). These are competitive rates. If you are a qualified candidate, ED is your best chance at getting in. Applying ED shows that you are serious about going to Whiting. Seniors, we are especially talking to you: every strategic college admissions plan includes a plan to apply early. Dates will come up fast, so get started!

JHU and, by extension, Whiting are hard to get into, but we can help. We work with students from freshmen to transfers to navigate all things college admissions. Ready to take the first step? Reach out today!

Get the Grades

The first step to getting into MIT is to have competitive grades, aka a 4.0 unweighted or very close to it. For the 2023-2024 admission cycle, 97% of admitted students were in the top tenth of their graduating class. You need to be pushing yourself academically. Part of that is getting a 4.0, but another part is taking a hard class load. Your transcript should be full of Honors, IB, AP, Accelerated, and/or Dual Enrollment classes. While high-level math and science classes are a must for MIT candidates, impressive applicants will likely have higher-level courses in multiple subjects. Take as many challenging classes as you can while maintaining a high GPA.

MIT is no longer test-optional, meaning you will also need competitive test scores. Last year, their middle 50% was impressive.

In all categories except SAT ERW, the 75th percentile was a perfect score, meaning that 25% or more of all admitted students had a perfect score. You need to be in this range to be a serious candidate.

Build a Niche

Just saying, “I want to study engineering” ������’t enough for MIT. First, it is far too general. Engineering is a big field; Biomedical Engineering is very different from Civil Engineering. Your interests should be clear, defined, and specific. Second, once you have your specific interest, you need a clear history of involvement in that area of study. This is your academic niche: a clear area of academic interest and a resume and knowledge base that backs up your passion for the subject. Building that clear academic niche and history takes time, and it can be a little hard to know where to start. However, there are a few steps you can take.

Courses and Reading

You need to learn as much as you can about your academic interests. A great first step is reading books. Before you say anything, yes, there are books about STEM subjects, and you ��Dz�’t need to be a humanities major to read. At the risk of sounding old, honestly, many young people ��Dz�’t read outside of class. However, they really should. Something as simple as reading books can help you stand out. Reading books about your academic interests will also make you better at writing and talking about your academic niche. Once you have started an impressive reading list, you can supplement it with podcasts, scientific journals, or anything else that helps you explore your field.

We also highly recommend taking some online classes outside of your school day. Many universities offer pre-taped (often free) courses through third parties like Coursera. This is a huge resource that can start building a history of academic exploration. You can also look for summer programs at universities or classes at community colleges to add to your academic history.

School Extracurriculars

Great candidates are involved in their school communities. However, ��Dz�’t just sign up for a bunch of random clubs. Great applications tell a story. You should look for clubs that help support that story and build on your academic interests. Popular clubs for students interested in engineering include robotics teams, science Olympiads, mathletes, STEM tutoring clubs, solar car teams, computer science societies, etc.. If your school doesn’t offer clubs with a STEM focus or that fit with your specific niche, ask about starting one.

Just signing up for clubs ������’t enough for MIT. Just as you push yourself in your classes, you need to push yourself in clubs. Being on the robotics team is nice. Being the co-captain of the robotics team is better. Being the co-captain of a state competition-winning robotics team, now we are talking! Take on leadership roles and be ready to commit time and effort to your clubs. If you ��Dz�’t, MIT might not be for you.

Out of School Extracurriculars

MIT-level students have impressive extracurriculars outside of the school year-round. However, summers are still extremely important for building an MIT-worthy resume. While many opportunities can make for great extracurriculars, MIT-level candidates will likely have a mix of research, internships, and academic programs during their summers. Getting involved in research (either with a personal project or by assisting a local professor) is especially important when looking at schools like MIT. Your out-of-school extracurriculars should also connect to your niche. We would always prefer a candidate who volunteers at a repair cafe over someone who job shadows at a bank but doesn’t want to pursue business. Choose the right opportunities to build a great application.

If you ��Dz�’t know where to start, we can help. We often work with students as early as their freshman year to help them strategize and optimize their summers.

Build Something Cool

MIT’s admissions blog has a post called “” Two categories on this list are ‘hands-on creativity’ and ‘initiative.’ You can show you have those qualities by building something cool and related to what you want to study. MIT knows that engineering requires hands-on skills, so show off which ones you have or even better, challenge yourself to learn new skills. The sky is the limit here. We have worked with students who have built solar projects, drones, computers, and much more. Create or invent something you would be proud to tell MIT about.

Apply Early

Earlier, we said MIT had around a 4.5% acceptance rate last year. While that is technically correct, it ������’t the whole picture. This is an overall acceptance rate made out of their Early Acceptance and Regular Decision rates. During their Early Action round, they accepted around 5% of students. Their regular decision rate was more like 2.5%. If you are serious about getting into MIT and are a qualified candidate, applying early is your best chance at acceptance. So, rising seniors, it is time to work on your apps. Dates come up fast, and you should have a good strategy for applying early!

MIT is extremely competitive, especially in engineering. You need to make a plan if you hope to be a competitive candidate. It takes a lot of work, and if you are worried about where to start, we can help. We work with students from rising freshmen to college transfers to ensure they are great candidates and help with all things college.

Ready to take the first step? Reach out today!

Looking through the Common Data Set, a collection of university data Penn publishes each year, we can see half of the undergraduate student body graduating in 2025 pursued majors in just three areas: Biological/Life Sciences (14%), Social Sciences (13%), and Business/Marketing (21%). Areas including foreign languages, English, history, and conservation each accounted for only 1% of graduating students. Those departments may not be as large as the biology department, but they do have faculty, office space, and the expenses associated with running an academic department at a prestigious university. It becomes part of the admissions officials’ job, then, to make sure that they are admitting students for, for example, the English department — not only Biology.

When we advise students who have some flexibility in what they want to pursue but who are certain that they want to go to Penn, we advise them to be strategic and to start early. Penn allows, for example, double majors between the School of Engineering and the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS). So, preparing a standout application for a more niche field offered by CAS can open doors wide enough to fit an engineering second major through.

In this post, we are going to share five of the top majors in CAS, and the alternatives we would recommend building a Penn application around. Remember, too, that in CAS at Penn you ��Dz�’t declare your major until sophomore year, and they ��Dz�’t check what you are declaring against your first-year application. Changing your mind is okay, but the application needs to strongly support the major you list. That means pursuing activities and leadership roles related to the major, and, ideally, developing genuine passion and enthusiasm for the field long before you would be pressing submit.

Penn does have a few wild cards we need to address, though, before diving into the top 5CAS majors, and alternatives you should consider. Because of the undergraduate business degrees offered through their famous business school, Wharton, business is one of the most popular majors at Penn. It’s also one of the hardest programs to get into, and there really aren’t any easier alternatives that still get an aspiring Wharton grad what they want — a Wharton degree. That is why, for this post, we are going to be focusing on another huge piece of the Penn pie, but one with way more options and opportunities: the College of Arts and Sciences. CAS is the way into Penn if you know you want the university, but are flexible as to your course of study. Below, are the 5 majors that can make it easier to pull off an acceptance.

Learn more about how we help driven students get into exceptional schools here.

Penn CAS offers more than 55 majors, including all the majors you can probably think of off the top of your head that a typical top school has. The problem with those majors ������’t that they aren’t exceptional — they are. The issue is that everyone applying thinks of just those few. The key to an acceptance, often, is to think outside of the box just enough to remain true to your passions and talents as a student while putting yourself into a less competitive consideration pool.

Instead of BIOLOGY, do EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

and the biosciences more largely are one of the most popular majors for high school seniors to list on their application as a first-choice option. One of the big reasons is that a biology major is a route into research, medicine, and the intersection of the two. Especially at a time when the future of the historically hyper-lucrative computer sciences fields is in question (thank you, AI), medicine feels packed with potential. Human bodies still need to be fixed.

This is all well and good, but writing about wanting to be a doctor ������’t very compelling. Potential MDs tend to pursue the same extracurriculars, like science quiz bowls, research internships, and hospital volunteering positions running blood bags around. That’s all awesome for developing the individual, but it ������’t great for creating an application that stands out from the pack. We advise our students to tailor their application in a different direction with more options for action.  

The Earth and Environmental Science major at Penn offers overlap with biology, but unlike medicine, which you cannot ethically take hands-on part in yet unless you become an EMT as a high schooler (which we’ve had students do, by the way!), you can get elbow deep in environmental science literally today. We’ve found that this allows our students to build an application rooted in actions they are already taking that stand out as distinctly different from their other science-minded peers without having to win championships to stand out.

In your application, you can even highlight the opportunities in Philadelphia to engage with the natural world even in the midst of an urban city, such as conduction research along — and in — the Delaware River.

Instead of BIOCHEMISTRY, do HEALTH AND SOCIETIES

Like Biology, Biochemistry is a very competitive major at Penn and first-year applicants who list biochemistry as their prospective major on their application are facing an uphill battle. Many students interested in are drawn to it due to the strong links to medicine and medical research, as well as setting them up for advanced study in fields like Genetic Engineering or Neurobiology.

If this is your dream, that is awesome. However, we coach students, for the purpose of the application, to consider listing as their prospective major instead. The Health and Societies program is geared towards students looking to prepare for going into the medical fields, but through an approach grounded strongly in the humanities. Excelling in history and English in high school, parallel to your science curriculum, sets you up as a great candidate for this program, whereas standing out as a prospective biochemistry major can be a lot trickier.

For students considering a Health and Societies route to Penn, we advise putting a strong emphasis on communication of knowledge while in high school. That could include leading or even coaching a Science Olympiad team, writing science-focused articles for your school newspaper, or anything else that puts the power of language on the same level as the power of science.

Instead of POLITICAL SCIENCE, do LAW AND SOCIETY

In 2024, Penn a new major: Law and Society. Any time a top school introduces a new major, it’s an exciting opportunity for prospective students to stand out. They need students to begin pursuing the major immediately. They need to validate the risk they have taken in launching the program, and seeing interest among applicants goes a long way in accomplishing that. This is why we are currently recommending that hopeful political science students actually list Law and Society as their prospective major on their application.

It ������’t enough to simply name the major and move on with an otherwise political science-focused application, though. Like most things in college admissions, pulling this off smoothly requires preparation and planning. You need to add at least one extracurricular to your schedule that speaks to the core tenets of the Law and Society major, like debate, and you need to be engaging with big questions around the role of law in social, economic, and political life whether through a long-term internship with a local politician, a regular column in your school newspaper, or independent (and published) research.

Instead of ECONOMICS, do PHILOSOPHY, POLITICS, AND ECONOMICS

You may have noticed that many of these alternatives we are suggesting are a focusing in more than a turning away. We’re not suggesting that you change what you care about, but instead lean into an area of the field you love that is less competitive for first-year applicants simply because fewer first-years know about the programs. That is especially true for the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics program at Penn, which is a great option for students who want to study economics but also want to stand out among the sea of economics applicants.

Economics is an extremely popular major at Penn, and it’s because the program is great. Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, or , ������’t necessarily an easier way into Penn, but if you have the time to craft your application around the major it is a great way to show how ideal of a fit you are for the Penn program. See, all the top colleges offer economics. PPE, though, is a bit of a unique beast. By thoughtfully pursuing extracurriculars and academics that speak to PPE, like taking a philosophy course junior or senior year, you can strengthen your application when read against other students who have simply followed the normal trajectory for an econ-minded kid. This may mean enrolling at a course at a local college or taking a summer class, but be sure that whatever you do is accredited and, ideally, will show up on your transcript.

Instead of INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, do HISTORY 

It’s not surprising that students interested in a prestigious Ivy League university like Penn are often drawn to International Relations. It’s a social sciences major, but with a clear professional trajectory. That is, however, a bit of the problem when you are working on your application. The students drawn to an major tend to have a lot in common and it can be difficult to differentiate between them on paper. There are the same courses, the same summer programs, and the same extracurriculars (like Model UN). Being a leader in your clubs and getting straight As in your courses is great, but when everyone is doing that it’s just more of the same. This is why we encourage IR students to consider a different option for their prospective major (at least on the application) at Penn: .  

The undergraduate history program at Penn has a wide variety of avenues and options for students to choose from, which allows applicants to truly personalize their application to their particular passions. A strong application needs to bring your interests to life, and this empowers that approach, whether you are into Pick out your potential concentration within the history major as far in advance as possible such that you can tailor some projects in junior year, and in senior fall, to amplify the seriousness of your interest.

WHARTON, NURSING, AND ENGINEERING

If you are set on attending Wharton, the School of Nursing, or the School of Engineering at Penn, there aren’t really many clever substitutes that can increase your chances of admission. However, we have some tips that have worked for us.

If you want to go to Wharton, you need to specify other than Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Artificial Intelligence, or Finance in your application. We recommend choosing between Marketing & Operations Management, Leading Across Differences, and Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors for Business. If you have time to get a retail job before applying, throw in Retailing as a secondary concentration. If you’ve never worked behind the counter, though, that can fall flat.  

If you want to go to the , there really ������’t a way around how tough it is to get in, as there are very few options within the program that you can point to as an applicant. So, buckle down and start volunteering doing boring stuff but learning by watching at a local hospital.

And if you want to go to the , we recommend considering applying to the College of Arts and Sciences with engineering as a second major, which is allowed through an exchange between the colleges.

Getting into a top-tier college is extremely difficult, so you need to be looking for opportunities to make it even just a tiny bit easier. Picking a major that will help you stand out, while still staying true to your interests and goals, is a powerful strategy for greater success if you commit to it early and see it through in your actions before applying. From strategy to submission, we can help.

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We are huge proponents of transferring. Many of our counselors went through the process themselves and have guided countless clients through transfer apps, so we’re not just professionally experienced: we know exactly what you’re going through and how you’re feeling.

If you’re targeting Ivy League-caliber schools like Harvard, it’s important to go into the process with a clear head, understand what lies ahead, and think critically about your strategy. Let’s jump in.

Transferring to Harvard – what, like it’s hard?

Well, yes. It’s very hard. Maybe not the hardest Ivy to transfer into, but it’s certainly close. Looking at the 2025-2026 transfer cycle, Harvard accepted 0.71% of transfer applicants, or to put it more plainly, 16 total students out of a pool of 2,256 applicants.

These numbers are scary. We know. But they do show us something important - it’s not impossible to transfer to Harvard. It might be next to impossible, but it’s not entirely out of your grasp. Let’s talk about the steps you need to take to make your application as competitive as possible.

Choosing The Right College

One of the biggest things you can do, right off the bat, is making a smart choice for where you’ll go freshman year of college. Hopefully, you have a few options, but if not, we can still help. There are a few things you need to consider:

Does this college have what I want to study?

This is key! College is about academics, and you need to attend a school that can provide the education you need for your future. If you want to transfer, it’s not a smart idea to just go to a party school with lots of blow-off pre-recs your freshman year. You need to explore your academic interests a little deeper.

If you ��Dz�’t know what you want to study, or think you might want to change paths, then think seriously about what those interests might be, and make sure that where you’re going has those options. Spoiler: a less popular concentration (to use Harvard’s parlance), like Anthropology, Folklore and Mythology, or History and Science is going to be less competitive than say, Poli Sci, History, or Bio.

Does this college have extracurricular opportunities I want to explore?

If things like undergraduate research, easy access to clubs, or service opportunities are important to you, then you need to find a school that fits that mold. This will come into play later on in the process.

Could I be happy here for four years if I ��Dz�’t get in as a transfer somewhere?

Perhaps the most important. Transferring is hard, transferring to an Ivy (or similar level school) is harder, and transferring to Harvard is one of the hardest things to do successfully. If you ��Dz�’t get into these schools as a transfer, can you be happy staying at one of your potential colleges? Obviously, points 1 + 2 are really important to have, but is it a place you can see yourself finding community or just like, even having fun?

Once you choose the right school, a lot of the other pieces fall into place.

Reassess Your First Year Applications

Now is the time to objectively look at your first year applications. What was missing? Maybe you applied to too-competitive of a major (sorry, concentration), or didn’t write essays that showcased who you really are. You could have highlighted the wrong things in your activities section, or didn’t have a good, cohesive narrative in your apps. Whatever the issue(s), you need to identify them so you ��Dz�’t repeat them in this process.

An important caveat: if your grades and scores were less than stellar in HS, those stats will still be present in your transfer app. You can always retake the SAT or ACT, but if you had less than a perfect HS GPA, you need to know that’s a major hurdle for you.

Understand the Expectations

With an acceptance rate less than 1%, we want you to be fully prepared for what Harvard expects of you.

Last cycle, for first-year enrollees, 95% scored between a 700-800 in SAT Reading and Writing, 98% scored that in SAT Math, and 98% scored between a 30-36 on the ACT. 72.41% of enrollees had a GPA of 4.0. Not having these stats in high school and now in college can hurt you.

As a college student now, your main job is school. You need to be getting perfect grades in your college courses, especially if you're attending a state or community college.

Enroll in the Right Classes

You may not have full autonomy over every class on your list, but you should try to optimize for your intended, ahem, concentration. Almost said major there. Close call.

What this means is that you want to balance your pre-recs (in case you ��Dz�’t transfer) with your major-specific courses at your school. If you have an inkling of something else you want to study, we recommend throwing one of your elective credits that direction. Many schools have core curriculums that allow you to choose from a variety of topics to fill that requirement, which is a great way to explore other subjects while also making sure you make solid degree progress at your current school.

We also recommend taking more than the standard course load – at some schools this is approximately 15 or 16 credit hours, and we’d recommend adding one more if you can handle it. This helps prove you’re able to handle a heavier courseload, which can help signal your readiness for Harvard. Worst case is that you realize early that you ������’t juggle all these classes, can drop that extra class before the add/drop period ends, and Harvard is none the wiser.

Develop Your Extracurriculars

You’ll fill out an activities section for the transfer Common App, but it’s way more focused on quality than quantity. You ��Dz�’t need a full 10 activities like you did for your first-year apps, and in 95% of instances, your HS activities won’t make the cut on this new list.

Join clubs! Start one! Pursue undergrad research! Get on the school paper or radio station! Get an on-campus job or volunteer with an org that means something to you! All of this leads to our next point which is…

Get Involved!

Don’t just sign up for clubs and extracurriculars – actually get hands-on. You can have a mix of serious things (Society of Math Students, e.g.) with fun things (Club Soccer! Aviation Club! Improv!), as long as you engage with them sincerely.

This serves two purposes: making sure you have community if your transfer bid isnt successful, and building depth you can communicate on your applications.

Also: go to office hours. Seriously. You will need rec letters in a few months, and you need to develop real relationships with your professors and TAs to make that happen. This also serves your dual purpose: it make your rec letters much more personal, and you’ll potentially find new mentors who can help you in the future.

Make a Smart List

If you just apply to Harvard as a transfer and expect to be successful, we ��Dz�’t love that. Here at TKG, we are risk-averse. No Kalshi or Polymarket for us. If you think you can be happier at any other college, we recommend applying to them, too.

But you shouldn’t just have all eight Ivies plus MIT, Duke, UChicago, and Stanford on your list. That’s a recipe for failure. There are tons of excellent schools with higher-ish transfer acceptance rates that we love having in the mix:

• Michigan

• NYU

• The UCs, especially UCLA, Berkeley, and UCSD

  • These can only be applied to for junior year transfers – and they prioritize California community college students. Something to think about, though!

• BU

• Notre Dame

• Tulane

• Wake Forest

• UNC

• Wesleyan

• Barnard

• Northeastern

As you think about transfer, it’s important to know it’s kind of a black box. It’s much more art than science, and it’s kind of like throwing darts with a blindfold on. That’s why it’s important to diversify your list, especially if you’re dead set on a highly competitive major.

Write Great Transfer Essays

The essays! Here’s where you ultimately have the most control over the process. Harvard asks six mandatory questions and one optional (but not really optional) one. These questions tell us a lot about Harvard:

• Briefly, please indicate the most influential factors in your decision to attend your present college (for example, location, cost, size of student body, only option, special program offered, Early Decision plan, etc.) (Approximately 200 words)

• Briefly describe your reasons for transferring and the objectives you hope to achieve. (Approximately 200 words)

• What alternatives to transferring to Harvard are you considering? (Approximately 200 words)

• Please indicate your intended concentration and briefly outline your academic plans at Harvard College. (Approximately 200 words)

• What are your current postgraduate/career plans? (Approximately 200 words)

• Harvard has long recognized the importance of enrolling a student body with a diversity of perspectives and experiences. How will the life experiences that shaped who you are today enable you to contribute to Harvard? (Approximately 200 words)

• Optional: If you have a personal statement that you would like to include, please upload here. The personal statement is optional. It can be a chance to share more about who you are. If you have applied to other schools that require a written personal statement, you may wish to include that with your Harvard College Transfer application, but it is not required nor expected.

  • TKG Note: This is asking for a Common App essay. If you apply to a full slate of schools, you more than likely will have to submit a Common App essay to at least one or two. This should be different from your “Why Transfer?” essay, which some schools label as a personal statement, but is a fundamentally different type of essay. The Common App should be creative, narrative, and unique. Thankfully, we can help with that (and all these other prompts, too).

Harvard asks a lot of questions, but they essentially boil down to a few main points: What do you want to study, why, and what are your goals? Why do you want to transfer? Do you have a community? And perhaps most importantly: When 99.3% of you ��Dz�’t get into Harvard, do you have a plan in place?

Harvard needs to see that you’re serious about their school. Many of these questions are essentially research essays about Harvard, and the ones that aren’t are extremely straightforward. You need to approach these differently than the first-year prompts, and instead focus on one major theme: you cannot accomplish your academic, personal, and professional goals without this Harvard education. It shouldn’t be just about vibes or reputation – spell out exactly what Harvard offers you and spell out exactly how that’s going to help you.

Conclusion

Transferring to Harvard – yes, it is hard! But if you follow this guide, or better yet, seek out our personalized guidance, we can help put you in the most strategic position possible. Our steps can help you make your dream a reality, but they can also help open you to other opportunities and make sure that if transferring to Harvard doesn’t happen, you have a solid plan in place to help you achieve all the goals you’ve set out to accomplish.

Strategizing a transfer to an Ivy League school is challenging, and the transfer process itself can be daunting. Let us help you manage that process – reach out to us today to get started.

Whatever the reason, if transferring is on your mind, you’re not alone! And it can be done!

At TKG, we’re big believers in the transfer pathway. Many of our counselors transferred themselves, and we’ve helped countless students navigate the process successfully. This ������’t just theory for us – we understand both the strategy behind transfer admissions and the emotional and mental side that can bog you down.

If you’re aiming for an Ivy League-caliber university like Penn, though, you need to approach the process strategically. The odds are tough, the expectations are high, and the margin for error is small. But with the right plan in place, you can give yourself a real chance.

Let’s break down what that plan looks like.

Penn Transfer Stats

Transferring into Penn is extremely competitive. Every year, thousands of students apply for a very limited number of spots. Last year, Penn admitted 3.2% of their transfer applicants. That might not feel crazy compared to their 5.4% first-year acceptance rate, but let’s put that into perspective. Penn admitted 3,523 students out of 65,236 applicants in the first-year cycle, while only 145 transfers were accepted out of 4,521 applicants.

Those numbers can, and should, be intimidating. Look, transfer admissions at top universities are incredibly selective!

But low odds do not mean zero odds. Every year, Penn does admit transfer students. Narrow margins, sure, but this is where strategy and positioning come into play.

Choosing The Right College

Your transfer strategy actually begins before your freshman year even starts. Right now, you can make a huge impact by choosing the right college to attend initially.

Ideally, you have a few solid options to choose from. Even if your choices are limited, though, you can still make strategic decisions that help position you for a successful transfer application.

There are three main things to think about:

Does this college have what I want to study?

First and foremost, college is about academics. You should enroll in a school that offers serious opportunities in the areas you want to explore.

If transferring is part of your plan, spending your first year coasting through easy classes is not going to cut it. Penn expects to see intellectual engagement and academic direction in your college transcript, and you need to be at the right college to make that happen.

If you’re not completely sure what you want to study yet, that’s okay! You should still think carefully about potential fields and make sure the college you choose offers coursework that lets you explore them meaningfully. You’re not locked in on a major just because you apply to it, but you should find something that interests you.

It’s also worth noting that some fields are simply more competitive than others. Highly popular areas like economics, business, and political science attract enormous numbers of applicants. Transferring to Wharton should be seen like climbing 15 Everests in a row. For strategy’s sake, you might want to consider less common but still related disciplines. Instead of poli sci, think about majors like Communication, specializing in , , or . For business majors, maybe a degree in Sociology, focusing on , or the concentration in the Health and Societies major. Instead of bio, try or .

Does this college have extracurricular opportunities I want to explore?

Your college environment should also give you opportunities to get involved – meaningfully.

Research positions, student organizations, community initiatives, campus publications, entrepreneurial groups, etc., etc., these kinds of experiences become extremely important when you apply as a transfer. They demonstrate that you didn’t just attend college for a year; you actually contributed to your community. We’ll get into this more in a moment.

Could I be happy here for four years if I ��Dz�’t get in as a transfer somewhere?

This might be the most important question. Transferring into an Ivy League school is crazy hard, and often, very strong applicants simply ��Dz�’t get in. There just aren’t enough spots for everyone who deserves one. It’s unfair, we know.

So before you enroll anywhere, ask yourself honestly: if you end up staying here for four years, could you still build a life you enjoy? Could you find friends, interesting classes, and meaningful experiences?

When choosing, you need to take academics and extracurriculars into consideration, but ultimately, you also want to land somewhere you could realistically call home and just have a good, solid experience.

Once you choose the right school for you, the rest of the process gets more clear.

Reassess Your First Year Applications

Once you begin thinking about transferring, it’s time to look critically at your original college applications. Ask yourself seriously, and critically: What worked? What didn’t?

Maybe your essays didn’t fully capture who you are. Maybe your activities section didn’t tell a cohesive story. Maybe you applied to extremely competitive programs without enough academic depth behind them. Identifying your gaps is essential. The transfer application gives you another opportunity to shoot your shot, but you ��Dz�’t want to repeat the same mistakes.

One important caveat: your high school record does not disappear. It is still just as important as before. Your grades, coursework, and testing from high school will still be part of your transfer application. You can always take a test again, but a low GPA will be hard to overcome.

Understand the Expectations

When applying to a school like Penn, you should assume the academic bar is extremely high. Because it is!!

Penn’s incoming first-year class typically includes students with near-perfect grades (59% had a GPA of 4.0, 31% between a 3.75 - 3.99) and exceptional test scores (98% of students had a 700+ on SAT Math and 96% had a 700+ on SAT Reading and Writing). Transfer applicants are evaluated against the same standards – plus college grades.

Once you arrive on campus, your primary job is academic performance. Especially if you’re attending a community college or a large state university, you need to finish your freshman year with a 4.0.

Enroll in the Right Classes

While you won’t always have full control over your schedule, you should try to build a course load that aligns with your academic interests, signals you can handle rigor, and sets you up to succeed grade-wise.

Ideally, this means a mix of core requirements and courses related to the field you plan to pursue. If you’re considering multiple directions, electives can be a great way to explore without derailing progress toward your degree. For example, many have flexible core requirements that allow you to choose from a range of subjects. Take advantage of those options strategically! You can explore a topic and get a gen ed out of the way.

We also often recommend slightly pushing beyond the standard course load if you can handle it. At many colleges, a typical semester might be around 15 or 16 credits. Taking an additional course can demonstrate academic ambition and capacity. However, if you realize early on that the workload is too heavy, you can always adjust during the add/drop period. Better to add the class now than realize you could have handled it too late!

Develop Your Extracurriculars

When you apply as a transfer, your activities section will look different than it did in high school. The quality of what you’ll pursue will matter far more than the quantity. You no longer need ten separate activities, and in the vast majority of cases, your high school involvement won’t even show up. Instead, you want to show admissions officers how you’ve engaged with your college environment.

That could include:

• Joining academic clubs

• Conducting undergraduate research

• Writing for the campus newspaper

• Hosting a radio show

• Starting a student organization

• Working on campus

• Volunteering with local organizations

All of this leads us to our next, fantastic point:

Get Involved!

You ������’t just sign up and call it a day, you need to actually do stuff with it. But we promise, this is not meaningless. Getting engaged, for real, serves two purposes.  First, you’ll build a real community at your current college. That matters for your personal experience at your school, regardless of your transfer outcome. Second, you’ll develop experiences that add actual depth to your application, which in turn looks more legit. Because it is!

Choose activities you care about and contribute meaningfully. Some should be serious, like academic societies, undergrad research, or policy organizations. But you can also have some fun stuff too, like a club sport or hobby club. It just matters that you actually like these things and can spend time with them.

And one more piece of advice: go to office hours. We are not kidding.

You’ll need recommendation letters in the near future, and strong letters require genuine relationships with professors or teaching assistants. Building those connections early makes a huge difference. If you ��Dz�’t do this, you risk hurting your own application.

Make a Smart List

If you apply only to Penn and nowhere else, that’s a very risky approach. We hate very risky. At TKG, we tend to be pragmatic, and betting everything on a single ultra-selective outcome rarely makes sense. We love to take a risk or two, but only when that’s part of a larger strategy.

Instead, build a transfer list that includes a range of strong schools where you could genuinely see yourself thriving. Plenty of top schools, especially for our business-minded students, have better odds for transfers. Some examples:

• Michigan

• Vanderbilt

• NYU

• The University of California system (UCLA, Berkeley, UCSD)

• Boston University

• Notre Dame 

• Wake Forest

• UNC

• Northeastern

A quick note on the UCs: you can only apply as a junior year transfer (i.e., you need two years worth of credits done/in progress to apply), and they heavily prioritize California community college students.

The reality is that transfer admissions are, for the most part, unpredictable. We can look at trends, but the amount of spots that open each year changes based on retention. It’s not a perfectly transparent process, and outcomes can be hard to forecast. That’s exactly why a diversified list is so important.

Write Great Transfer Essays

Here’s a part of the process where you have total control – the essays. Historically, Penn has asked similar questions to their first-year app, but we pulled this last cycle’s questions for all applicants to discuss:

• Please explain your reasons for transferring from your current institution and what you hope to gain by transferring into another institution. (4150 characters)

• How will you explore community at Penn? Consider how Penn will help shape your perspective, and how your experiences and perspective will help shape Penn. (2295 characters)

• Considering the specific undergraduate school you have selected, describe how you intend to explore your academic and intellectual interests at the University of Pennsylvania. (For students applying to specialized programs, please answer this questions in regard to your single-degree school choice; your interest in the specialized program may be addressed through the program-specific essay.) (2295 characters)

We can gather three things from these three questions. Penn cares about your academic goals, they want to know how you’ll add to the school, and also they care about your academic goals. Guess that’s just two things, then. Oops!

Instead of broad storytelling about your life or talking straight vibes, transfer essays are often more focused and pragmatic. You’re explaining a transition: where you started, what you learned in your first year of college, why what you’ve got ������’t working, and why Penn will work for your academic and intellectual journey. You also ��Dz�’t want to bash your current school. Focus on the gaps you’re seeing, or that your current school doesn’t offer this cool niche program that Penn does have.

Above all, your reasoning needs to be specific. It ������’t just be about prestige or reputation. You need to clearly articulate what Penn offers (academically, culturally, and personally) that you ������’t find elsewhere.

Conclusion

Transferring to Penn is difficult. There’s no way around that – but difficult doesn’t mean impossible. With thoughtful planning, strong academic performance, meaningful extracurricular engagement, and carefully crafted essays, you can build a competitive transfer application to Penn, and we can help you each step of the way.

Even more importantly, the steps outlined here help ensure that your freshman year is productive and fulfilling regardless of the outcome. If Penn works out, fantastic! However, if it doesn’t, you’ll still have built a strong academic foundation and exciting future opportunities – and maybe even some other college options. Transfer admissions can feel confusing and overwhelming, but you ��Dz�’t have to navigate the process alone.

Strategizing a transfer to an Ivy League school is challenging, and the transfer process itself can be daunting. Let us help you manage that process – reach out to us today to get started.

Economics is undergraduate major at the University of Chicago by a landslide. This has been true for well over . We ��Dz�’t see it changing anytime soon, either. Among the students we work with on applying to the University of Chicago, most start with Economics as their prospective major. Most of that group, though, also end up with something else selected on their application.

The most popular majors — computer science, mathematics, biological sciences, and political science — enroll less than half as many students as economics.  

Which major you select on your application is part of the game of college admissions that a lot of people ��Dz�’t know to consider. When the university asks you what you want to study, they aren’t simply curious. They are trying to put together a class that is diverse across many measures — including areas of academic interest. This is to benefit the students, but more so to benefit the program. If they are going to offer a major in something, it’s important that they have new students actually entering into the program each year. At the University of Chicago, there is absolutely no shortage of applicants clamoring for a spot within the economics program. Getting that spot, though, doesn’t always mean stickering your application with virtual economics stickers. Instead, we are going to be strategic.

Ideally, you’ll start this process early. By selecting a prospective major as a sophomore or early in your junior year, you can steer your academics and activities towards supporting the argument that you are truly interested in what you’ll be putting on your application. Hopefully, you are! We ��Dz�’t recommend an elaborate ruse all to get into a dream school, but we do work with our students on targeting a more accessible major at a top-tier school as early as sophomore year.

Learn more about how we help driven students get into exceptional schools here.

If you are planning on applying to the University of Chicago, make “anything but econ” your mantra for your application. The competition for a seat as a hopeful economics major is incredibly steep, so basically anything else would be better to put on your application with one massive caveat: you have to show genuine long-term interest in whatever you select through both your academics and your activities.

These are five majors that you should seriously consider for your UChicago application if you want to get in, and why they are strong alternatives for motivated students.

Instead of ECONOMICS, do CLIMATE AND SUSTAINABLE GROWTH  

If you are certain that you want to study economics, we recommend looking at the major in Climate and Sustainable Growth. When we work with economics-minded students, we have recently been steering them toward this economics-heavy major that has something big going for it: it’s new. The major in Climate and Sustainable Growth as of the fall of 2025. This means that they are looking for students to fill seats in the program, but they aren’t groveling. UChicago is crafting the first few cohorts of students who will possibly graduate with this major, so it is crucial that any application that lists the Climate and Sustainable Growth major as a primary area of interest is crafted specifically towards the foci of the program. Namely, the intersection of economics, climate change science, and policy.

Standing out as an applicant for this major is, we’ve found, easy in some ways and hard in others. It’s easy because it’s new, and so students haven’t had years to perfect an application precisely for it. It’s hard, though, for the same reason — you haven’t had time. We encourage students to think about each pillar of the program (economics, climate change science, and policy) as something that must be addressed specifically in two places in your application. It has to be on your transcript (i.e., through courses) and it needs to be in your activities. If you ��Dz�’t have time to check all the course boxes, like adding an environmental sciences course, you need to double down on the activities side for that pillar. One type of activity that can hit multiple boxes quickly if you are short on time is a long-term internship or volunteer role with a local politician or political initiative who has a strong climate change resilience platform.

Instead of BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, do HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, AND SOCIAL STUDIES OF SCIENCE AND MEDICINE

The has a wordy name, but it is a strong option for students who want to line themselves up for a future in medicine. The obvious choice for most pre-med-minded high school students is biology, or something like it. It covers the courses required by medical schools, and simply makes sense. The problem is everyone is using this same logic. Bio makes sense, so that’s what they select on the application.

What’s cool when you select History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine, though, is that all that work you’re already putting into to stand out as a science student with a particular interest in medicine also translates to the major in HIPS. Students in this program are even required to also build a solid foundation in a science, giving you the opportunity to fulfill all your medical school prerequisites. We work with our students to further strengthen their pitch as a prospective HIPS major by developing the side of their transcript that they have, quite often, neglected up to this point: the humanities. Science-heavy students too often count on impressive STEM outcomes to carry them through the admissions process, but that ������’t enough. You can be a brilliant science mind, but if you aren’t also excelling at essay writing that is a major problem.  

With the HIPS major, the ability to communicate what you know is held as high as the volume of information your brain can retain, so it is a good idea to be writing for a school newspaper, contributing to a literary journal, or leading a philosophy club at your high school.

Instead of POLITICAL SCIENCE, do LAW, LETTERS, AND SOCIETY

Students drawn to Political Science are often looking to better understand the world around us from a political social lens. They want to know why things are happening, what happened before that led to current events, and what is likely to be a major political players’ next move. It’s also a massively popular major because of two things: there are programs in most high schools that feed into college political science programs and, second, you can find it basically at any college.

When you look at your particular interests more specifically, however, it’s possible that what you are actually most interested in understanding ������’t a contemporary geopolitical conflict but the social and philosophical systems that drive society through a legal lens. This is where the major lives. Unsurprisingly, many students who pursue this major go on to careers in the law, but many go into journalism, government, business, and academia. 

When we work with students interested in the Law, Letters, and Society major at UChicago, one of the first things we want to see or cultivate is active engagement with the field. Yes, you are still in high school, but there are so many opportunities to get hands-on. One way is with summer programs focused on law and aimed at students looking towards a pre-law track. Our favorite, though, ������’t something hundreds of kids can do each summer. We work with students to identify and pursue volunteer and internship opportunities that are specific to them, especially within law firms, the offices of elected officials, and within political campaigns.

Instead of COMPUTER SCIENCE, do DATA SCIENCE  

There ������’t a major that at the University of Chicago that easily substitutes in for Computer Science. However, there has never been a better time to think differently about a future with computers. Computer Science is one of the most popular majors at the University of Chicago, but what a student who majors in comp sci is facing after graduation has never been more uncertain. Artificial Intelligence is upending everything, and that’s why we are encouraging students to consider instead.

Now, Data Science is not interchangeable with Computer Science — we know that. However, there are aspects of data science as a field that resonate with those who love coding, especially around building intelligent systems and algorithms to make sense of the world. As a student pursuing the Data Science major, you would tackle challenges that intersect directly with computer science, which is why an applicant who has already expressed deep interest in computer science through high school can be a strong Data Science candidate.  

Standing out beyond the average highly-accomplished applicant interested in data science, though, can be a bit tough. Everything students have been doing for computer science is also often present in a data science-oriented application, which risks blending into the crowd. To stand out, we love when our students jump at the opportunity to do independence research relevant to the data science field. If there ������’t time to undertake a whole project, we work with our students to connect with a graduate researcher or professor so as to pursue a supporting role in meaningful academic inquiry.  

Instead of COMPUTATIONAL AND APPLIED MATHEMATICS, do STATISTICS

is one of the at the University of Chicago, but has not cracked the top tier of majors yet. This is why, for us, it is a better option for math-minded students than selecting computational and applied mathematics.

Stats has a weird spot in the high school psyche. Many high schools encourage students who aren’t great at math to take AP Statistics to improve their transcripts for colleges. This has led to high school students often thinking that there is something about stats that is less impressive. Let us assure you that this is entirely false. While it may be easier for a humanities-minded student to do well in stats than in a high-level calculus class, it ������’t ‘easy math’ — and it certainly ������’t easy at the University of Chicago.

When we are helping a student develop a strong statistics portfolio for their UChicago application, we definitely prioritize the importance of two things: research and communications. We want to see them conducting research and we want to see them communicating their findings, ideally through a published written format as well as through an oral presentation format. This is a great opportunity to meld the statistics work with another passion, be it dance, music, or baseball card collection. Bonus points if you can make the project topic fun enough to garner a chuckle from the application readers.  

If none of these alternatives are exciting for you and you are dead-set on applying to one of the University of Chicago’s most popular majors, we can help. In the meantime, we have some advice. Remember that with increased competition comes a decreased chance of getting in. What may have been a target school with a less competitive major is, suddenly, a reach. This doesn’t mean that you ������’t get in, but it is an unnecessary additional hurdle that could have been stepped around on route to your ultimate goal.

We specialize in helping students achieve extraordinary outcomes, and a key piece of the process is strategy. Picking a major for your application that sets you up for success with admissions is not the same as signing your life away to a particular department. You will not get a call from admissions in the spring of your sophomore year of college asking you why you are declaring a major in history when you’d listed literature on your first-year application.

Once you are in the race (i.e., into a dream school), you get to run. Our job is to get you a bib number and to the starting line. The best way to accomplish this is to start early and plan well ahead. If you are a junior, though, there is still time to make a massive impact on your outcomes next year. Crafting an application that sets you up as an ideal candidate requires our finesse and expertise and your passion and drive. So, let’s do it. 

Contact us to Learn more.

To do that, we turn to the . Like most colleges and universities across the United States, Berkeley completes the CDS—a standardized reporting framework used by organizations such as U.S. News & World Report and College Board. The report contains a wide range of institutional data, but the section most relevant to applicants is Section C, which focuses specifically on first-time, first-year admissions. Today, we’re going to dive into to give you a glimpse into their process.

Trend Spotting: Five Years of Berkeley Admissions

Stepping back to examine Berkeley’s admissions trajectory over several years can be especially revealing. In recent cycles, the number of students applying has increased from earlier in the decade but has stabilized in the last few years.

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: With over 100,000 applicants each cycle, Berkeley is an extremely popular and extremely selective school for prospective students.

Applying to Berkeley means entering a pool filled with 120k+ applicants who already look impressive on paper. Tens of thousands of students apply each year, and the vast majority have strong transcripts and challenging coursework. At Berkeley, those academic credentials are the baseline. What ultimately distinguishes applicants is how clearly their interests and achievements fit together.

C1: First-Time, First-Year Admission, Applications

Let’s look at the admissions data breakdowns based on gender and location:

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers.

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw number

Key Takeaways for Acceptance Rates:

• More women apply to Berkeley than men, and they also enroll at slightly higher rates

• As a public university, Berkeley’s yield rate is lower than that of some similarly selective private institutions, partly because many admitted students are also weighing other highly selective options

• Out-of-state applicants are at a disadvantage, but in-state acceptance rates are also very competitive

• Like many selective schools, international acceptance rates are incredibly low

Over time, Berkeley has become one of the most competitive public institutions in the United States, attracting students from across the country and around the world. As a result, most students should consider Berkeley a reach school, even most in-state applicants. Even highly accomplished and worthy applicants often see that admission is far from guaranteed, especially for competitive majors.

Waitlist

Berkeley releases waitlist data, which we love! Many schools ��Dz�’t, which leaves students in the dark about their odds. The numbers, and our experience working with students, prove that getting off the waitlist ������’t impossible, but it is very challenging. Getting off the waitlist varies significantly from year to year, depending on how many admitted students ultimately enroll, but historically, only a small share of waitlisted applicants receive an offer later in the spring or summer.

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Key Waitlist Takeaways:

• A relative few students are waitlisted, meaning if you are waitlisted, they do see you as a potential fit

• The vast majority of students offered a spot on the waitlist take it

• Berkeley accepts a very, very small percentage of students off the waitlist, and waitlisted students make up a very small portion of their total incoming class

When students receive a waitlist decision from Berkeley, the reaction often swings to one extreme or the other. Some students assume it’s essentially a rejection in disguise. Others treat it as if their inevitable acceptance is just delayed. In reality, it’s neither. A waitlist decision means Berkeley sees you as someone who could succeed on campus, but the admissions office doesn’t currently have space in the class.

What happens next depends largely on how the class shapes up after admitted students make their decisions. Waitlist movement can be limited and varies significantly from year to year, but it does occur. Every admissions cycle, we work with students navigating waitlists at Berkeley and other highly selective universities, helping them take the right steps to stay in contention if spots open later in the process.

Standardized Test Scores and Grades

This is normally where we give you the ACT and SAT spreads for enrolled freshmen, but Berkeley doesn’t give us that data. That’s because Berkeley is “test-free.” From their website:

“Berkeley is test-free, which means we will not use SAT/ACT test scores in any part of our application process.

Berkeley has always used, and will continue to use, holistic review, which means there is no one factor on the application that will determine a student’s admission status. SAT/ACT test scores were not the only academic indicators available on the application to assess students. Other academic indicators will continue to be assessed in the review process, including grades, the rigor of a student’s courses, other non-required tests (AP exams, IB test, etc.), and a student’s individual academic context.

While SAT/ACT scores will not be used in the admissions process, any scores submitted to Berkeley will be used for placement or subject credit purposes should the student be admitted to Berkeley.”

We ��Dz�’t love this. Evidence shows that strong test performance correlates with higher academic achievement in college, and most other colleges worth their salt either require, or at the very least, accept test scores. We do not like it when schools remove another data point that you can use to prove your worth.

And the numbers support that. Looking at who chooses to report scores – and how competitive those scores tend to be – gives us valuable insight into what Michigan considers strong academic preparation.

Annoying. But they do give us the HS GPAs of enrolled freshmen, something many schools omit. The average GPA of first time, first year students who submitted their GPA was 3.9, and 100% of enrolled students submitted their GPA.

Key GPA Takeaways:

• Anything meaningfully below a 3.9 (the average GPA of an enrolled student) weakens an application

• Students reporting GPAs under 3.75 are statistical outliers and should not be used as a benchmark

It’s also worth addressing the small group of admitted students who appear in lower academic bands – like those with GPAs in the low 3s. When families notice those numbers, it can create the impression that Berkeley’s standards are more flexible than they really are. In reality, those cases are outliers. They ��Dz�’t indicate that the admissions bar is lower, and applicants should not approach the process assuming they might be the exception.

The truth is that we rarely know the full story behind those admissions decisions. Some may be recruited athletes. Others could be first-generation college applicants, students from under-resourced schools, or applicants whose extraordinary circumstances provide important context for their academic record. Every highly selective institution ends up with a handful of these atypical profiles in its admitted class, but they shouldn’t be treated as a model for how the process works. For the overwhelming majority of applicants, Berkeley’s expectations remain extremely high.

Considerations

This is the section of the Common Data Set where the numbers stop doing all the explaining. Berkeley certainly evaluates concrete academic signals, like GPA, course rigor, and other indicators that show whether a student is prepared for collegiate academics. But those metrics just establish the bar, and once applicants clear that bar, admissions officers begin weighing broader “considerations” that are harder to quantify. This is where the more strategic elements of an application start to matter. Let’s begin with academics:

Key Takeaways for Academic Factors:

• Getting the best grades in the hardest classes your school offers is extremely important

• Many high schools ��Dz�’t report class rank, which might be why it’s excluded

• Make sure to spend lots of time working on your personal insight questions

Key Takeaways for Nonacademic Factors:

• Berkeley does not track demonstrated interest, and they do not care about legacy

• How you spend your time outside of the classroom is very important to Berkeley

• Make sure to pick up some volunteer work, and maybe even get a summer job

Look, some aspects of your application are simply unchangable. Geographic background or first-generation status, for example, are straightforward pieces of information in your file. But many of the qualities admissions offices care about most, like character, intellectual curiosity, creativity, and talent, ��Dz�’t come with a clear scoring system. Instead, admissions readers piece together an understanding of who you are by reading across your entire application: essays, recommendations, activities, and the overall story that emerges. Applicants can be thoughtful about how they present themselves, but interpretation ultimately rests with the admissions committee.

This is also where extracurricular activities start to carry real weight. For students who are genuinely competitive at Berkeley, especially out-of-state applicants, surface-level involvement does not stands out. The strongest applicants aren’t simply accumulating clubs, sports team memberships, or filling their resumes with unrelated commitments. Instead, they tend to invest deeply in a smaller number of pursuits that reflect genuine curiosity and sustained effort. Their activities actually connect to one another and reveal a sense of direction. In other words, admissions officers aren’t just looking for busy students; they’re looking for students whose interests form a coherent narrative. Depth, consistency, and originality tend to matter far more than sheer quantity, and helping students build that kind of thoughtful profile is a major part of the work we do each year.

Conclusion

You probably already knew that Berkeley is extremely competitive. But by now, the goal is that you have a clearer understanding of what that competitiveness actually means – beyond a single acceptance-rate statistic.

At the same time, admissions decisions aren’t made by spreadsheets alone. Data can highlight patterns and thresholds, but it doesn’t fully capture what Berkeley values in an applicant, and it certainly doesn’t define any individual student. When we work with applicants, whether they’re applying to Berkeley in-state, out-of-state, or targeting particularly selective programs within the university, our approach is always individualized. Each strategy is built around the student’s academic strengths, interests, and long-term goals. There’s no universal formula for admission to Berkeley, or to any college, but there are thoughtful choices that can strengthen your application. Our job is to help students shape a profile that stands out in a very large and very accomplished applicant pool, and we do it every year.

One way to increase your odds? Working with college consultants who are experts in the field and have a high rate of success getting students into Berkeley and the UCs. We help countless students gain admission to top universities every single year – reach out to us today to get started. 

These numbers are a couple of years too old to use, but they show that Cal’s engineering programs are more challenging to get into than the school at large. Last year, the acceptance rate for out-of-state students was around 7.3%. While it was higher for in-state students (at around 15%), trust us when we say that it is always hard to get into Cal. It is especially hard for out-of-state engineers. If that sounds like you, you need to make sure you are an elite candidate. There are a couple of steps that you need to take to do this. Let’s break them down. 

Get the Grades

The UCs ��Dz�’t look at SAT/ACT scores. Grades are always important for getting into college, but their testing policy makes your grades even more important. Last year, over 35% of applicants had a 4.0 unweighted GPA. Over 89% of applicants had above a 3.75 unweighted GPA, with the average submitted GPA as an unweighted 3.9. These are impressive grades, but you actually need more than just near-perfect grades. Cal also wants to see remarkable transcripts. You need to take as many Honors, IB, AP, Accelerated, and/or Dual Enrollment courses as possible to craft an impressive transcript. This very much includes the highest levels of math and science available to you, but it doesn’t stop there. You should push yourself with a challenging course load in as many subjects as possible while maintaining a high GPA.

Build a Niche

The UCs make you choose from programs and majors when applying. Your resume needs to back up this decision. The best way to do this is to establish an academic niche. You should explore your academic interests outside of class. This makes it clear that you know what you want to study and that you have knowledge of your intended field. The more you can learn, the better. Ideally, you want to become an expert in your academic niche. A well-defined niche comes with a solid resume and knowledge base; there are a couple of ways to start building just this.

Courses and Reading

The first step in building an academic niche is learning as much as possible about your academic interests. Many students say they want to be engineers, but ��Dz�’t know much about engineering. Don’t be like them. We recommend reading books. Before you say anything, there are many excellent books on STEM subjects. At the risk of sounding like a boomer, many young people ��Dz�’t read outside of class. Reading makes you better at talking and writing about your interests and helps build a strong knowledge base. You can supplement your reading list with podcasts, scientific journals, tech blogs, etc., but books should be on it.

Another great resource is online classes. Many universities offer pre-taped and often free courses through third parties like Coursera. These classes can give you the background knowledge of the field to push yourself further. You can also look for courses at college summer programs or community colleges. Taking classes outside of school will help you build a strong academic niche. Again, these are your first steps. But first steps are often the most important in determining a future direction.

School Extracurriculars

We love to see students who are involved in their school communities, especially in strategic ways. You should sign up for clubs and activities at school that build on your academic interests and niche. Hopeful engineers should look for robotics teams, Science Olympiads, mathletes, STEM tutoring clubs, solar car teams, computer science societies, etc. If your school doesn’t offer STEM-based clubs or the right STEM-based clubs for your niche, ask the administration about starting your own.

However, just signing up ������’t enough. Cal wants students who commit time and effort to the clubs that matter to them. You want to set yourself up to take on responsibilities and leadership roles. For example, a one-hour-a-week commitment to the Science Olympiad is not going to cut it. Being the co-captain and leading your team to the regionals in helicopter building? Now we are talking. Push yourself as far as you can in your extracurriculars!

Out of School Extracurriculars

While we love it when students are involved outside of school all year long, summers are especially important for building Cal-level resumes. You should strategically plan your summers to help develop your academic niche. There are a lot of great opportunities out there, but competitive candidates will likely have a mix of educational programs, internships, and research during their summers. You should look for opportunities specifically connected to your field of study.

Summers are extremely important. We often work with students as young as Freshmen to ensure their summers are strategically planned. If you aren’t sure where to start, we can help you maximize your summers. Contact us today!

Build Something Cool

You can show off your engineering skills by building something you would be proud to tell Cal about. Engineering is one of the more hands-on majors you can have, which makes skills from fabrication to programming valuable. We have worked with students who have built drones, computers, solar power systems, and much more. You can really choose anything; just make sure it makes sense for your academic niche. Show off what you can do, or even better, challenge yourself with a project that forces you to learn more and expand your skill set.  

UC Berkeley is hard to get into, especially for out-of-state students. If you hope to get in, you need to be an outstanding candidate. It is a lot to ask for. If you need help, we have you covered.

We work with freshmen to transfers on all things college applications. Reach out to talk to a dedicated counselor today!

To start, we rely on the , usually abbreviated as the CDS. Most colleges and universities in the United States complete this standardized report so that organizations like U.S. News & World Report, College Board, and Peterson’s can present comparable institutional data. The CDS includes a wide range of information about each university, but the section that matters most for applicants is Section C, which focuses on first-time, first-year admissions. For this analysis, we’re looking specifically at .

Trend Spotting: Five Years of Tufts Admissions

Before focusing only on the most recent cycle, it helps to zoom out and look at the broader trajectory of Tufts admissions. In the years surrounding the pandemic, many highly selective universities experienced major fluctuations in application volume. At Tufts, however, the past several admissions cycles have looked relatively steady. Application numbers remain high, while the size of the incoming class has changed very little, leaving overall selectivity consistently tight.

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: Because Tufts’ admissions patterns have been relatively steady, applicants can approach the next few cycles with a clearer sense of the landscape

When you apply to Tufts, you’re entering a pool filled with applicants who already look extremely strong academically. Tufts has long attracted students with interdisciplinary interests and high community engagement, so simply having impressive credentials ������’t enough. Applicants who stand out tend to present a resume that feels thoughtful and cohesive rather than scattered or stuffed.

C1: First-Time, First-Year Admission, Applications

To understand what this applicant pool actually looks like, it helps to start with the numbers – specifically how applications break down across the class. Their Common Data Set provides a closer look at the composition of applicants, including differences by gender and location.

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Key Takeaways for Acceptance Rates:

• Yield is lower than many people expect, largely because admitted students often have multiple highly competitive options

• More women apply to Tufts than men, and women also make up a slightly larger share of admitted and enrolled students

• Tufts reports a meaningful number of students identifying outside the traditional gender binary, which is consistent with the school’s personality and culture

Tufts is unquestionably competitive, but understanding the admissions process requires looking beyond reputation or vibes alone. Data offers a clearer framework for evaluating the odds and identifying realistic benchmarks. Without that context, it’s easy to rely on assumptions rather than evidence when assessing how selective the process really is.

Early Decision

Students applying to Tufts through Early Decision have historically seen higher admission rates than those applying in the Regular Decision pool. We know this because we work with ED and ED2 applicants to Tufts every single year. Unfortunately for us, and for you, the reader, Tufts does not give us the raw data on ED.

We imagine this is because they ��Dz�’t want to show their cards, which is silly. That’s the point of the CDS. Pro tip for Tufts: if you want a higher yield rate, maybe take more of your incoming class from ED and ED2!

Waitlist

A lot of universities release very little information about their waitlists, but Tufts gives us the data! Thank you, Tufts! The data is pretty surprising, but we’re not mad at it.

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: Tufts doesn’t waitlist that many students, and they accept a much larger portion than similar schools. Almost 20% of their incoming class is from the waitlist, which is one of the highest we’ve seen.

When students receive a waitlist decision, some interpret it as a rejection in softer language, while others treat it as a near-acceptance. Neither is true. A waitlist decision signals that Tufts believes you could thrive on campus – they simply ��Dz�’t have space in the class at that moment. Movement depends entirely on how the admitted class shapes up after students make their enrollment decisions, which means it varies from year to year and is usually limited. Still, it does happen. Each year we work with students navigating Tufts waitlists and help them take the right steps to remain competitive if spots open later in the cycle.

C9-C2: First-Time, First-Year Profile, or Scores and Grades

Tufts currently operates with a test-optional policy, but that shouldn’t be mistaken for a signal that standardized testing ������’t important to them. Across higher ed, colleges are increasingly studying how different groups of admitted students perform once they arrive on campus. Some schools have concluded that applicants admitted without scores face more academic difficulty, which is part of why testing requirements have begun returning in certain places. Tufts has chosen to remain test-optional for now, and we’d wager to guess that they’ll remain test-optional for the foreseeable future, but strong scores still add meaningful context to an application.

Even though Tufts is test-optional, the available numbers are revealing. Looking at how many enrolled students submitted scores and how competitive those scores were offers insight into Tufts’ academic expectations.

Breakdown of enrolled students who submitted test scores:

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: A majority of enrolled students still chose to submit standardized test results. SAT scores appear more frequently than ACT scores in the data, which has more to do with the popularity of those tests than with whether Tufts cares more about the SAT than the ACT.

Now let’s examine the score ranges for the ACT and SAT sections.

Why This Matters: The middle-50% score ranges sit extremely high on both exams, meaning applicants generally need top-tier results to stand out academically. We recommend aiming for 1550+ and 35+ to be truly competitive.

First-time, first-year students with scores in each range:

Standardized Test Score Takeaways:

• Typical Tufts enrollees have very high scores, and there’s very little variance

• Because these numbers reflect students who actually enrolled, it’s likely that some admitted applicants who declined their offers had even higher scores

• Submitting a score that falls well below these ranges can weaken an application

To remain competitive at Tufts, an applicant’s academic profile needs to be exceptionally strong. Even scores that place a student near the top nationally may still fall toward the lower end of Tufts’ admitted range. A similar pattern emerges when we look at class rank.

Key Class Rank Takeaways:

• The overwhelming majority of enrolled students graduate near the top of their high school class

• Admission rates drop quickly as class rank moves further from the top

• The 1% in the bottom half is the exception, not the rule

Let’s add some perspective. The small group of admitted students with lower scores or ranks are statistical outliers, and they do not indicate that Tufts’ academic expectations are flexible. We rarely know the full context behind those decisions. Some of those applicants may be first-generation college students, students from under-resourced schools, or individuals with exceptional life circumstances. But those cases are unusual, and applicants should not assume they will be evaluated in that same context.

TL;DR: If Tufts is your goal, you should be aiming for the strongest grades and test scores possible.

Considerations

This is the point in the Common Data Set where the analysis becomes less mechanical and more interpretive. Tufts University certainly cares about clear academic indicators, like course rigor, grades, and (when submitted) standardized test scores, but those metrics mainly establish whether a student is academically prepared. Beyond that, admissions officers consider a broader set of factors that ��Dz�’t fit neatly into a formula. These more subjective elements are where thoughtful strategy begins to matter most, and it’s where most of our work lies.

Key Takeaways for Academic Factors:

• Tufts expects applicants to get the best grades possible with the most rigorous coursework available

• If you choose to submit standardized test scores, they will reinforce the strength of your academic profile

• Having strong essays and recommendations can really help you at Tufts

Key Takeaways for Nonacademic Factors:

• Tufts does track demonstrated interest

• Legacy status may help you at Tufts, but it won’t strengthen a weak application

• Your values, especially if they’re in-line with Tufts’, are very important

Some of these elements are straightforward and ������’t be changed or strategized. Geographic background or first-generation status, for example, are just plain factual parts of an application. Other qualities are much harder to measure, like curiosity, creativity, empathy, and initiative, which ��Dz�’t come with numerical scores. Instead, admissions readers piece together an understanding of those characteristics by looking across the entire application – essays, recommendation letters, activities, and the story you’re trying to tell. Applicants can be intentional about how they present themselves, but interpretation ultimately rests with the admissions committee. In many ways, Tufts is trying to assess fit, which means applicants should also consider whether their interests and personality genuinely align with the university’s collaborative culture.

This is also where you can see that extracurricular activities matter a lot. The strongest applicants aren’t simply stacking clubs, sports, or collecting leadership titles. Instead, they tend to invest deeply in a smaller number of pursuits that reflect genuine curiosity and commitment to their academic passions. Plus, their activities often connect with each other in meaningful ways, and reveal their intellectual direction and personal motivation. Depth, continuity, and originality tend to matter far more than quantity, and helping students develop that kind of thoughtful profile is something we work on with families every year.

Conclusion

Tufts is highly selective, but it’s not an impossible goal. After reading this, we hope you have a clearer picture of what they’re looking for and what their selectivity actually looks like beyond the headline acceptance rate.

At the same time, admissions decisions are not made by spreadsheets and computers. They’re made by people, and at a very people-centric school like Tufts, that matters. Data can highlight trends and academic benchmarks, but it cannot fully explain what Tufts values in an applicant, and it certainly ������’t tell you exactly how you need to spend your high school career to game the system. When we work with applicants, whether they’re applying ED, ED2, RD, or to one of Tufts’ specialized programs, our approach is always tailored to the student. Each strategy is built around that student’s academic strengths, interests, and long-term goals. There’s no single formula for getting into Tufts, but thoughtful choices can significantly strengthen how an application is crafted and interpreted.

One way to increase your odds? Working with college consultants who are experts in the field and have a high rate of success getting students into Tufts. We help countless students gain admission to top universities every single year – reach out to us today to get started. 

Hopeful Yale engineers ��Dz�’t need to apply directly to the engineering program. Instead, you just need to indicate your academic interests in a non-binding way and write a short essay about what you hope to study (more on that later). However, this means that whether you are hoping to study Computer Science or Comparative Literature, you need to be a Yale-caliber candidate. Yale is very competitive. Last year, their acceptance rate was only . It is one of the most selective schools in the country. To get in, you need to be a top candidate, and there are a couple of steps you need to take to do so. Let’s break them down.

Get the Grades

You need to have perfect or near-perfect grades to get into Yale. That shouldn’t be surprising. Really, having a 4.0 unweighted is just the first step. You also need a competitive transcript. This means taking challenging classes. You need to take as many Honors, IB, AP, Accelerated, and/or Dual Enrollment classes as possible while still maintaining an excellent GPA. While competitive Yale candidates take advanced courses in multiple subjects, engineers need to take high-level math and sciences, especially.

Yale has been test-optional for a couple of years. However, they have ended that policy for fall 2025 applicants, meaning you must submit great test scores. Last year, around 86% of applicants submitted scores, and the 50th percentile of scores were 1530 on the SAT or 34 on the ACT. You should aim for better scores (or at the very least, similar ones). 

Build a Niche

Yale asks you to list your academic interests and to write a short essay about a related topic:

Tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected above. Why are you drawn to it?  (200 words or fewer)*

It should be clear what you want to study from your application, even before this question. Yale-level applicants will have a history of involvement and exploration of their academic interests outside of class, aka an academic niche. While your academic niche has to be much more well-documented than just essays, if you need help answering this question, we have a whole blog about how to write the Yale supplemental essays here.

Courses and Reading

The first step to building a great niche is learning as much as possible about your area of interest. We highly recommend making a reading list for yourself. There are many amazing books about engineering that will help you build a solid knowledge base. Reading books will make you better at talking and writing about your interests in a compelling way. Once you have made yourself a solid reading list, you can supplement it with podcasts, scientific journals, tech blogs, etc.

Another great resource is online courses. Many universities offer pre-taped (often free) courses through third parties like Coursera. These can be a great way to explore your niche and learn more about engineering. You can also look into summer programs/community colleges, but outside of school, courses should be a part of your history of academic curiosity.

School Extracurriculars

Your resume should include in-school activities. For most students, this means after-school clubs. Popular clubs for hopeful engineers include robotics teams, science Olympiads, mathletes, STEM tutoring clubs, solar car teams, computer science societies, etc., depending on your exact niche. If your school doesn’t offer any STEM-based clubs, talk to the administration about starting one.

Just joining clubs ������’t enough for Yale. You also need to commit time and effort to the clubs that matter to you. Yale is looking for students who take on responsibilities and leadership roles in their clubs. A one-to-two-hour a week commitment as a member ������’t going to be impressive for Yale. You need to do more and push yourself in your clubs, just like you do in your classes.

Out of School Extracurriculars

Summers are important. Having a strategic and well-planned summer with activities that connect to your niche is important for Yale applicants. Trust us, we often work with students starting their freshman year to make sure their summers are working for them. While there are many amazing out-of-school activities (many of which you can also do all year long), your summers should specifically contain a mix of academic summer programs, internships, and research to best support your academic niche. You also want to ensure your summer activities connect to your academic niche. Don’t get us wrong, we love a summer job, but would prefer working at a science camp to working at a coffee shop. Remember, your resume should tell a story.

There are many opportunities out there, but they can be tricky to find. If you need help strategizing your summers, we have you covered! Contact us today!

Build Something Cool

Yale-level engineering applicants already have skills. From soldering to design to computer programming, building out your skill base while in high school will help show Yale that you are serious about your academic interests. You can show off your skills by building something cool. We have worked with students who have built drones, computers, solar power systems, and much more. Push yourself to see what you can create and show off your skills. Even better, choose a project that makes you learn some new things!

Apply Early

Yale doesn’t publish its Restrictive Early Action acceptance rate. However, we highly recommend applying early. For qualified candidates, applying early is your best chance at getting into Yale. Rising seniors, we are especially talking to you: it is time to make a strategic EA/ED plan and start on those applications. Dates come fast, and if you are serious about Yale, you need a solid plan for applications ASAP.

Yale is extremely competitive. If you want to get in, you need to make sure you are a strong candidate and have an amazing application.

From building a resume to writing essays, we can help you with all things college. Ready to take the first step? Reach out today!

To do that, we turn to the , or CDS. Most colleges and universities in the U.S. complete this standardized document to ensure consistent reporting to organizations like U.S. News & World Report, the College Board, and Peterson’s. The CDS includes a wide range of information, but for our purposes, we’re going to focus on one specific section of : first-time, first-year admissions.

Trend Spotting: Five Years of Johns Hopkins Admissions

Before zooming in on the most recent cycle, it’s helpful to step back and look at Hopkins’ broader admissions pattern. After a noticeable post-COVID surge in applications, the number keeps going up, and as applicant numbers rise, acceptance rates continue to fall.

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: JHU continues to get more competitive, which means their standard for applicants will likely get higher.

When you apply to Johns Hopkins, you’re entering a pool filled with students who are just as talented as you are, and many of those students are engaged deeply in their interests. For applicants targeting areas like biomedical engineering, neuroscience, public health, or pre-med, strategic positioning matters a lot.

C1: First-Time, First-Year Admission, Applications

Let’s dig into the numbers more closely, including how applications and acceptances break down by gender:

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Key Takeaways for Acceptance Rates:

• Hopkins’ yield is lower than we’d expect, likely because applicants are also applying to other ultra-competitive research institutions like CMU or Georgia Tech and then weighing their options

• International students are a higher percentage of the total applicant pool than at peer institutions

Hopkins’ competitiveness ������’t just because they have a great reputation – it has to do with the fact that more students apply each and every year. This is the vicious cycle of college admissions. Without grounding your approach in real data, it’s difficult to see where you fall

Early Decision

Historically, Johns Hopkins’ Early Decision pool has offered a modest admissions advantage over Regular Decision, though that gap has narrowed considerably as ED has grown more popular.

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: JHU does take a large portion of students from ED, but the acceptance rate is fairly low for ED. This may have to do with ED2, as well. Nevertheless, if you have a strong application, and you really like Hopkins, applying ED may be an advantageous decision for you.

Regular Decision

The CDS does not publish Regular Decision admit rates directly, but we can approximate them by subtracting ED outcomes from the total. While these estimates aren’t perfect, they’re accurate enough to inform our strategy.

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: Most of Johns Hopkins’ incoming class is admitted through Regular Decision, but RD remains the more competitive pathway. If Hopkins is clearly your top choice and your profile is already extremely strong, ED is often the more strategic option.

Waitlist

Johns Hopkins is more transparent than many peer schools when it comes to waitlist outcomes. But we’ll be honest, the numbers surprised us!

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: A decent amount of students accepted waitlist spots, but the admits from that group were low. Which is surprising, because their yield is so low! This indicates they may be over admitting students.

When students land on the waitlist, reactions tend to swing hard in either direction. Some see it as a dead end; others treat it as a delayed acceptance. Neither interpretation is accurate. A waitlist decision signals that Hopkins sees you as capable of succeeding there – but space is the constraint. Movement happens inconsistently and in small numbers, but it does happen. We help students navigate Hopkins waitlists every year, and we can help you too.

C9-C2: First-Time, First-Year Profile, or Scores and Grades

Johns Hopkins has ended their test-optional policy for the next cycle. Across higher education, schools are paying closer attention to post-enrollment performance, and many have found that students admitted without test scores often struggle more once on campus. That pattern has already prompted several institutions to reinstate testing.

Thankfully, lots of students who enrolled at JHU submitted scores, and we can see what JHU wants to see by analyzing their numbers:

Breakdown of enrolled students who submitted test scores:

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: 2/3rds of enrollees submitted scores. SAT submissions outnumber ACT submissions, but there’s no indication that Hopkins favors one exam over the other.

Now, let’s take a look at the score breakdowns for each section of the ACT and SAT:

Why This Matters: With middle-50% ranges clustered at the very top of national distributions, applicants should generally be aiming for scores in the 1550+ SAT or 35 ACT range to be competitive.

First-time, first-year students with scores in each range:

Standardized Test Score Takeaways:

• The median Hopkins enrollee posts extremely high scores within an already elite pool

• Because these figures reflect enrolled students, many admitted students who chose to attend elsewhere likely had even stronger results

• Submitting a weak score can actively undermine an otherwise solid application

• A very small number of students fall outside these ranges, but those cases should not inform your strategy

To be a realistic contender at Johns Hopkins, your academic profile must be exceptional. Scores that place you near the top nationally may still sit toward the lower end of Hopkins’ admitted range. The same logic applies to GPA and class rank. The average GPA of students who submitted their GPA was a 3.93, and 93.09% of first time, first-year applicants submitted their GPA.

Key GPA Takeaways:

• Anything meaningfully below a near-perfect GPA weakens an application

• The average GPA of all students who submitted (93% of enrollees) was a 3.93

• Students reporting GPAs under 3.75 are true statistical anomalies

Key Class Rank Takeaways:

• 100% of students reporting rank graduated near the very top of their high school class

• Admission odds drop sharply as class rank declines

Now, let’s be honest here. The handful of admitted students with lower scores are exceptions – not evidence of flexibility. We ��Dz�’t know who those students are or what circumstances shaped their outcomes. Some may be first-generation students, applicants from under-resourced schools, or individuals with extraordinary life experiences. You cannot build a strategy around hoping to be the exception.

TL;DR: If you want your strongest possible shot at Johns Hopkins, you should be aiming for near-perfect grades and the highest scores you can reasonably achieve.

Considerations

This is where the Common Data Set stops being clean and starts getting interpretive. Johns Hopkins absolutely evaluates concrete academic inputs – course rigor, grades, and test scores – but those are just the baseline. On top of that sits a set of broader considerations that ��Dz�’t come with formulas or checklists. This is where strategy matters most.

Key Takeaways for Academic Factors:

• Hopkins prioritizes great grades in the most rigorous courses available

• Test scores matter!

• Your essay and recommendations are super important

Key Takeaways for Nonacademic Factors:

• Hopkins does not track demonstrated interest

• Legacy status plays no role

• Service, work history, and contribution to community matter deeply

Some nonacademic details are fixed, like geographic background or first-generation status. Others, like intellectual curiosity, creativity, and talent, are far harder to define. Admissions officers infer these qualities by reading your application holistically: essays, recommendations, activities, and overall voice. You can be intentional, but you ������’t fully control interpretation. Ultimately, Hopkins is assessing alignment, which means you should also be honest about whether its academic culture and values genuinely fit you.

This is also where extracurriculars start doing real work. For applicants who are genuinely competitive at Johns Hopkins, surface-level involvement won’t move the needle. The strongest applications aren’t stuffed with random clubs or generic leadership roles. Instead, standout students commit deeply to a small number of pursuits, often research-driven, service-oriented, or technically rigorous, and those activities clearly reflect how they think and what motivates them. Depth, continuity, and originality matter here, and helping students build that kind of profile is exactly what we do every year.

Conclusion

There’s no disputing that Johns Hopkins is extraordinarily selective. At this point, you should have a far clearer sense of what competitiveness at Hopkins actually looks like beyond name recognition alone.

Still, admissions decisions aren’t made by spreadsheets. Data can reveal patterns, but it ������’t fully capture Hopkins’ priorities – and it certainly ������’t define you. When we work with students, whether they’re applying Early Decision, Regular Decision, or targeting specialized academic pathways, our approach is always individualized. Each strategy is built around the student’s strengths, interests, and goals. There’s no guaranteed formula for getting into Johns Hopkins, but there are thoughtful, strategic choices that can significantly improve how your application is read.

One way to increase your odds? Working with college consultants who are experts in the field and have a high rate of success getting students into Johns Hopkins. We help countless students gain admission to top universities every single year – reach out to us today to get started. 

Our starting point is a familiar one: the , or CDS. Most colleges and universities in the U.S. complete this standardized reporting document so organizations like U.S. News & World Report, the College Board, and Peterson’s can compare schools using consistent metrics. The CDS is dense and wide-ranging, but for our purposes, we’re going to zero in on one specific slice of : first-time, first-year admissions.

Trend Spotting: Five Years of Pomona Admissions

Before zooming in on the most recent cycle, it helps to step back and look at the longer arc of admissions at Pomona. Unlike some peer institutions that have seen dramatic swings, Pomona’s numbers have been relatively steady in recent years. The applicant pool remains the same, the admit rate remains low, and the overall level of selectivity hasn’t fluctuated much – which, frankly, tells us a lot.

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: Pomona has been consistent, which means they stick to their standards. For you, making sure you clear their academic bar is especially important.

When you apply to Pomona, you’re entering a pool where almost everyone looks excellent on paper – and many applicants bring a distinctly intellectual, curiosity-driven profile to the table. How you think, what you pursue deeply, and how coherently your interests come together all play an outsized role in a process this selective.

C1: First-Time, First-Year Admission, Applications

Let’s zoom in on how Pomona’s applicant pool breaks down, including patterns by gender:

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Key Takeaways for Acceptance Rates:

• Pomona’s yield reflects the reality that many applicants are also applying to (and choosing between) other ultra-selective liberal arts colleges

• Gender balance in the applicant pool continues to skew slightly female, which tracks with broader trends across colleges

Pomona is competitive, obvi. And in order to get into a hyper-competitive school, you need the stats to back it up. Without concrete reference points or clarity about who’s being admitted and why, it’s easy to misjudge your odds or misplay your approach. Grounding your plan in real numbers and real patterns allows you to apply thoughtfully, rather than just hope.

Early Decision

Applicants who apply to Pomona through Early Decision have traditionally seen higher acceptance rates than those who apply in Regular Decision. That said, the margin ������’t as dramatic as some students hope. Like the overall numbers, ED has stayed pretty consistent.

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: This ED rate is twice that of RD, but that doesn’t mean it’s a guarantee, or even that your subjective chance is twice as good ED. ED only meaningfully helps students whose applications already align strongly with Pomona’s academic and institutional priorities. Fit still does the heavy lifting.

Regular Decision

Pomona’s Common Data Set doesn’t neatly spell out Regular Decision acceptance rates on its own. To get a reasonable estimate, we have to work backward by subtracting Early Decision admits from the overall numbers. While this method ������’t perfect, it’s accurate enough to guide your planning.

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: Most of Pomona’s incoming class is ultimately admitted through Regular Decision, but RD is more competitive than ED. If Pomona is your clear top choice and your application is already operating at a very high level, applying Early Decision can be a strategic move – but only in the right circumstances.

Waitlist

Pomona is more transparent than many of its peers when it comes to waitlist data, which we appreciate. Pomona places a relatively small number of students on the waitlist and admits an even smaller fraction from it in most years.

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: Pomona places a meaningful number of applicants on its waitlist each year, but historically admits only a very small slice of that group.

A waitlist decision tends to send students spiraling in opposite directions. Some assume it’s a soft no; others read it as a quiet yes. Neither interpretation is accurate. Being waitlisted at Pomona means the admissions committee sees you as someone who could thrive on campus, but they just ��Dz�’t have space at the moment. Spots open unpredictably and often late, but they do open. We work with students on Pomona waitlists every year, and with the right strategy, it’s absolutely possible to improve your odds.

C9-C2: First-Time, First-Year Profile, or Scores and Grades

Pomona continues to allow test-optional applications, but that policy should not be mistaken for indifference toward academic signals. Across higher education, schools are paying closer attention to how students perform after enrollment, and many have noticed that students who enroll without test scores can face more academic challenges once they arrive. That broader trend has already pushed some institutions back toward testing requirements. Pomona hasn’t made that shift (yet), but the expectations remain high.

Even without a testing mandate, the numbers tell a clear story. Examining how many students choose to submit scores and where those scores land gives us valuable insight into what Pomona considers academically competitive. As you’ll see, strong scores still function as meaningful evidence of readiness when they’re part of the application.

Breakdown of enrolled students who submitted test scores:

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: 50% of enrolled students submitted standardized test scores. More students submit SAT scores than ACT scores, but that doesn’t mean Pomona cares more about one than the other.

Now, let’s take a look at the score breakdowns for each section of the ACT and SAT:

Why This Matters: Applicants should generally aim for at least a 1550+ or 35+ to stand out, similar to the Ivy League.

First-time, first-year students with scores in each range:

Standardized Test Score Takeaways:

• The typical Pomona enrollee is coming in with very strong testing, even among an already high-achieving group

• Because these figures reflect students who ultimately enrolled, many admitted students who chose other schools likely posted equal or higher scores

• Submitting weak scores can actively work against you

• A microscopic number of students land outside these ranges. Don’t base your strategy on that

If you’re aiming to be a realistic contender at Pomona, your academic profile needs to sit comfortably at the top of the national distribution. Scores that would look phenomenal in most contexts can still place you on the lower edge of Pomona’s admitted pool. And the same story shows up when you zoom out beyond testing, including when you look at class rank.

Key Class Rank Takeaways:

• Most enrolled students finished near the very top of their high school class

• As class rank drops, admission probability drops quickly alongside it

Reality check before we continue: the handful of admitted students with noticeably lower scores are not proof that standards are flexible. They’re outliers, full stop. We ��Dz�’t know who they are or what tipped the scales – maybe they’re first-gen, maybe they’re coming from under-resourced schools, maybe they have extraordinary accomplishments or circumstances you simply ������’t see in a spreadsheet. What we do know is that trying to reverse-engineer an exception is not a strategy.

TL;DR: If Pomona is the goal, you should be aiming for near-flawless academics and the strongest testing you can reasonably achieve.

Considerations

This is where the Common Data Set stops feeling clean and starts getting… human?? Subjective?? Yes, Pomona places heavy weight on concrete academic indicators, like course rigor, grades, and test scores (when submitted). But those are just the starting point. Layered on top is a set of qualitative factors that ��Dz�’t come with a scoring rubric or guaranteed formula. Frustratingly, and importantly, this is where smart strategy matters most.

Key Takeaways for Academic Factors:

• Pomona expects students to push themselves academically by taking the most rigorous courses their high school offers and doing very well in them

• A lot of high schools ��Dz�’t report class rank due to toxic competition concerns, so not submitting won’t hurt you

• If you choose to submit test scores, Pomona will take them seriously

Key Takeaways for Nonacademic Factors:

• Pomona does not track demonstrated interest

• Pomona does not care about legacy status

• How you spend your time outside of school is very important to them

On the nonacademic side, some parts of your application are purely factual: where you’re from, whether you’re first-generation, things like that. You ��Dz�’t get to tweak those, and you shouldn’t waste energy trying. Other qualities, like intellectual curiosity, character, talent, and skill, are much more interpretive. Admissions officers are pulling signals from everywhere: your essays, recommendations, how you spend your time, and the overall feel of your application. You ������’t dictate how those signals are interpreted, but you can be intentional about the story you’re telling and whether it feels aligned with Pomona’s academic culture and values.

This is also the point where extracurriculars stop being a checklist and start doing real work. For students who are genuinely competitive at Pomona, surface-level involvement won’t move the needle. The applications that stand out aren’t stuffed with random clubs or tons of JV sports or generic leadership titles. Instead, the strongest candidates show depth – serious investment in a small number of interests pursued over time. Those pursuits often feel specific and thoughtful, revealing how a student thinks, what they care about, and where their curiosity naturally leads. That kind of coherence matters a lot at a place like Pomona, and helping students build it is a big part of what we do.

Conclusion

Pomona is, without question, an extraordinarily selective college. Hopefully by now, you have a clearer, more grounded understanding of what that selectivity actually looks like beyond reputation or admit-rate shock.

Still, no one gets into Pomona by “winning” a spreadsheet. Data can show you the academic neighborhood you need to live in, but it ������’t fully capture what Pomona values, or who you are as a person. When we work with students, whether they’re applying ED, RD, or navigating unique academic interests, there’s not a one-size-fits-all strategy. Every plan is built around the student’s strengths, curiosities, and long-term direction. There’s no guaranteed formula for admission, but there are thoughtful, strategic choices that can meaningfully shape how your application is read.

One way to increase your odds? Working with college consultants who are experts in the field and have a high rate of success getting students into Pomona and other competitive liberal arts colleges. We help countless students gain admission to top universities every single year – reach out to us today to get started. 

To do that, we rely on a familiar source: the . Most colleges and universities in the U.S. complete this standardized report so that organizations like U.S. News & World Report, the College Board, and Peterson’s can compare institutions using consistent data. The CDS covers a wide range of topics—many of them genuinely interesting—but for our purposes, we’re going to zero in on one specific portion of : first-time, first-year admissions.

Trend Spotting: Five Years of Northeastern Admissions

Before we zoom in on this year’s numbers, it’s worth pulling back to understand the longer-term trend at Northeastern. Over the past several cycles, the university has seen application volume climb dramatically, while the proportion of students admitted has moved steadily in the opposite direction. Northeastern’s rise is shocking, but it probably has to do with them being both test-optional and not requiring any supplemental essays.

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Key Takeaways for Trend Data:

• ED acceptance rates are sort of all over the place, but they seem to value it

• The shift to test-optional policies coincided with a significant surge in applications following the 2020–2021 cycle, and removing supplements only brought that number up

The result? An applicant pool that is both massive and intensely competitive. Clearing Northeastern’s academic bar is necessary, but it’s only the starting line. At this level, differentiation is what actually moves the needle, which can be hard when you ��Dz�’t have supplemental essays to write.

C1: First-Time, First-Year Admission, Applications

Here’s the breakdown for first-time, first-year applicants during the 2024-2025 cycle:

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Key Takeaways for Acceptance Rates:

• An acceptance rate hovering around the low single digits makes Northeastern a reach for virtually every applicant

• Northeastern’s yield remains lower than many peer schools with similar acceptance rates

• Application interest skews female, but they ��Dz�’t have a lower acceptance rate

There’s no sugarcoating it: Northeastern is brutally competitive. If you’re reading this, you already know that. But vague awareness ������’t enough. Real strategy depends on understanding the numbers behind the reputation – who gets in, how they get in, and what the admitted class actually looks like.

Early Decision

Applying Early Decision to Northeastern has historically come with a higher admit rate than Regular Decision, though that advantage has compressed as more students have caught on. Seeing a bigger percentage can make ED feel like a cheat code – and it’s definitely not. But, we do like the ED numbers we’re seeing.

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: Northeastern’s ED admit rate is meaningfully higher than its overall acceptance rate. While ED doesn’t override weaknesses in an application, it can provide a real edge for students who already present as strong fits.

Like most selective schools, Northeastern is dealing with simple math: more applicants chasing a fixed number of seats. Roughly a third of Northeastern’s incoming class is drawn from the ED pool – and since Northeastern doesn’t publish the EA numbers, we we ��Dz�’t know how many more come from there.

Regular Decision

Northeastern doesn’t publish a clean RD acceptance rate, but we can estimate it by backing ED admits out of the total pool. These figures aren’t perfect, especially since we ������’t see EA numbers (and we assume they’re high), but they’re at least a good rule of thumb.

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: The majority of Northeastern’s class ultimately comes from Regular Decision, but RD is far more selective than ED. If Northeastern is your clear first choice and your application is already competitive, applying Early Decision is often the strongest strategic move available.

Waitlist

Unfortunately, Northeastern does not give us any waitlist stats:When schools ��Dz�’t give us waitlist data, it can leave students feeling confused and lost. We wish they’d publish this, but what do we know. We’re just experts!

What we will say is that when a waitlist decision lands, student reactions usually fall at opposite ends of the spectrum. Some assume it’s a soft rejection, while others convince themselves it’s basically an acceptance, and neither is accurate. A waitlist at Northeastern means the admissions office thinks you’re great! They just ��Dz�’t have space right now. Even without transparency, we help students navigate Northeastern’s waitlist (and others like it) every single year.

C9-C2: First-Time, First-Year Profile, or Scores and Grades

Northeastern continues to offer a test-optional pathway, but that policy should not be mistaken for a lack of academic scrutiny. Across higher education, schools are taking a harder look at how students perform once they arrive on campus, and many have found that applicants admitted without scores tend to struggle at higher rates. That realization has already prompted several institutions to reinstate testing requirements. Northeastern hasn’t made that shift, and we ��Dz�’t think they ever will, but submitting strong scores can still work strongly in your favor.

Even when testing ������’t required, the numbers tell a very clear story. Examining how many students opt to report scores, and how high those scores are, gives us meaningful insight into what Northeastern expects academically.

Breakdown of enrolled students who submitted test scores:

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: Roughly 31% of enrolled students submitted standardized test scores, not many at all. Since Northeastern doesn’t require scores or supplements, they’ve seen a boost in admissions numbers.

Now, let’s take a look at the score breakdowns for each section of the ACT and SAT:

Why This Matters: With middle-50% ranges around 1450-1520 on the SAT and 33–35 on the ACT, we generally recommend aiming for at least a 1500 or 34 to be competitive

First-time, first-year students with scores in each range:

Standardized Test Score Takeaways:

• The typical enrolled Northeastern student reports SAT or ACT scores at the very top of the national range

• Because these statistics reflect enrolled students rather than all admits, it’s likely that many students who chose other schools had even stronger results

• Submitting a score below roughly a 1400 SAT or 30 ACT can significantly hurt competitiveness

• While a tiny fraction of students fall below these ranges, those cases are not a realistic model for admissions strategy

To be a credible contender at Northeastern, your academic profile needs to be extremely strong. Even scores that land you in the highest national percentiles may place you toward the lower edge of Northeastern’s admitted pool. The same principle applies to grades and class rank as well.

Key GPA Takeaways:

• GPAs meaningfully below the top of the scale weaken an application, even though the overall range may look forgiving on paper

• Applicants reporting GPAs under roughly 3.75 represent true anomalies, and you shouldn’t base your strategy on being an exception

Key Class Rank Takeaways:

• Most enrolled students finish high school in the top quarter of their graduating class

• Many colleges ��Dz�’t require rank to be submitted, and many high schools ��Dz�’t share it either

• As rank drops, admission odds decline sharply

Before anyone gets too excited, let’s reset expectations. The very small number of admitted students showing ACT scores in the low 20s, or GPAs under 3.5 are not evidence of flexible standards. Those cases are exceptions, and they are not an invitation to think, “Great, so I still have a shot!” We ��Dz�’t know who those students are or what factors influenced their outcomes. Some may be recruited athletes; others could be first-generation students, applicants from under-resourced schools, refugees, or individuals with extraordinary circumstances. You cannot build a strategy around trying to become an outlier.

TL;DR: If you want your strongest possible shot at Northeastern, near-perfect grades and the highest scores you can reasonably earn are the baseline.

Considerations

This is where the Common Data Set stops feeling clean and starts getting subjective. Yes, Northeastern evaluates concrete academic factors like GPA, course rigor, and standardized, but those are only the foundation. On top of that sits a set of qualitative “considerations” that ��Dz�’t come with a rubric and ������’t be engineered perfectly. This gray area is where strategy matters most. Let’s start with academics:

Key Takeaways for Academic Factors:

• As a school with no supplements, it doesn’t surprise us that the essay ������’t too important to them

• Many high schools ��Dz�’t report class rank, so its absence ������’t inherently negative

• Strong performance in the most rigorous courses available to you is essential

Key Takeaways for Nonacademic Factors:

• Northeastern does track demonstrated interest

• Qualities like talent, character, and personal attributes are inherently subjective

• You ������’t control legacy status, first-generation background, or geography – but you can control how you spend your time and what you pursue outside the classroom

Some nonacademic factors are straightforward. Where you live or whether you have alumni connections are fixed details, not levers you can pull – so ��Dz�’t obsess over them. Others, like curiosity, creativity, or character, are far more interpretive. Admissions officers piece these together by reading your application holistically: essays, recommendations, activity choices, and overall voice. There’s no formula here, but fit with Northeastern absolutely matters. It’s worth asking yourself honestly whether the school’s culture, priorities, and experiential focus truly align with what you want before going all in.

Demonstrated interest is tracked, and thankfully, that’s something we can control. Going on school tours, virtual or IRL, reading newsletters, emailing your AO, etc., are all things you can do to rack up those points.

Extracurriculars are doing far more than just being “important” at Northeastern. How you spend your time outside of class is one of the clearest (and only) ways to distinguish yourself in a pool full of qualified applicants and no supplemental essays. Competitive students aren’t stacking random clubs or chasing leadership titles for optics. They’re investing deeply in a small number of pursuits that clearly connect to their academic interests and long-term direction. Depth, focus, and intentionality stand out – and helping students build those kinds of profiles is exactly what we do year after year.

Conclusion

Northeastern is highly selective. No duh, we know. But hopefully you leave this post having a clearer, more concrete understanding of what that selectivity actually looks like when you’re assessing your own competitiveness and planning your strategy.

That said, admissions ������’t be solved with a spreadsheet alone. Data reveals trends and thresholds, but it doesn’t fully capture what Northeastern values as a community, and it certainly doesn’t tell your story. When we work with students, whether they’re applying Early Decision, Regular Decision, or navigating more complex pathways, our approach is never exactly the same. Strategy starts with the individual: how you think, what motivates you, where you’ve invested your time, and where you’re headed. There’s no single formula for getting into Northeastern – and the students who earn admission ��Dz�’t all look the same on paper.

One way to increase your odds? Working with college consultants who are experts in the field and have a high rate of success getting students into Northeastern. We help countless students gain admission to top universities every single year – reach out to us today to get started. 

To do that, we start with the , commonly referred to as the CDS. Most U.S. colleges and universities complete this standardized report to provide consistent information to organizations such as U.S. News & World Report and College Board. The CDS includes dozens of sections covering everything from enrollment patterns to financial aid. For our purposes, however, the most relevant section is Section C, which focuses specifically on first-time, first-year admissions. We’re going to dive into to arm you with the data you need to know before you apply.

Trend Spotting: Five Years of UCLA Admissions

We think it’s helpful to zoom out and look at the broader admissions trajectory at UCLA. Over the past several years, application volume has exploded, with UCLA consistently drawing one of the largest applicant pools in the country (almost 150k!!). The number of applications has leveled off slightly over the last few cycles, but the basic dynamic hasn’t changed – the university is receiving far more applications than it has available seats.

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: When the number of applicants keeps rising but the freshman class size stays relatively fixed, acceptance rates inevitably drop.

Applying to UCLA means stepping into a pool of almost 150,000 applicants, and many of them already look excellent on paper. As we’ll see later in the data, strong grades and rigorous coursework are the baseline for consideration, not what distinguishes a student. What separates the most competitive applicants is how clearly their profile fits together. Admissions officers aren’t looking for a long list of disconnected accomplishments – they’re looking for students whose academic interests, activities, and achievements point in a consistent direction.

C1: First-Time, First-Year Admission, Applications

Let’s take a look at how this year breaks down:

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Key Takeaways for Acceptance Rates:

• More women apply, are admitted, and enroll than men

• UCLA does not release in-state vs out-of-state, but we imagine at least 2/3rds of these students are from in-state

• UCLA admits gender diverse students in comparable numbers to cis students

UCLA is one of the most sought-after public universities in the country. For most applicants, especially out-of-state ones, UCLA should realistically be viewed as a reach school. Even students with exceptional grades and strong activities often find that admission is far from guaranteed.

Waitlist

UCLA’s a little more… opaque than other schools when it comes to transparency, but it does release some information about its waitlist process. Looking at both the published numbers and our experience working with students, it’s clear that getting off the UCLA waitlist can be difficult, but far from impossible.

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Key Waitlist Takeaways:

• A decent portion of students are waitlisted rather than admitted or denied

• About 2/3rds of students accept a spot on the waitlist

• The waitlist acceptance rate is higher than the overall acceptance rate

When students receive a waitlist decision, reactions often land at one extreme or the other. Some interpret it as a rejection in softer language. Others treat it like an acceptance that simply hasn’t arrived yet. Both are wrong. A waitlist decision means UCLA believes you could succeed there – they just ��Dz�’t currently have room in the class. Whether spots open later depends on how many admitted students ultimately enroll, making waitlist movement unpredictable and limited. Still, it does happen. Every year, we help students navigate UCLA waitlists and other highly selective schools, positioning them as strongly as possible in case additional offers are made later in the cycle.

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: Approximately 20% of applicants to UCLA will either be accepted or waitlisted, but 80% will be outright rejected. These odds are important to consider when applying to UCLA.

Grades and Scores

UCLA does not use or even accept test scores for admissions. Test scores are used for placement and placement only! We kind of hate this, because they’ve taken away another metric you could use to prove your readiness for college. Removing test scores might increase access for students, but at the end of the day, we think it’s a bit of a scam. Because more applications = more rejections, which means they get to look more exclusive.

Why This Matters: Test scores do not matter to UCLA, but GPA does. If you ��Dz�’t have strong stats in hard classes and strong extracurriculars, UCLA will be a massive reach

Now, let’s look at the GPA numbers, since that’s all the objective data we have. 100% of all first year (freshman) students submitted their GPA, and the average GPA was 3.93.

Key GPA Takeaways:

• Anything meaningfully below a 3.94 (the average GPA of an enrolled student) will really weaken your application

• Students reporting GPAs under 3.75 are the exception, not the rule. Don’t build a strategy around being the exception

It’s also worth addressing the small number of admitted students who appear in lower GPA ranges. When families see those data points, it can create the impression that UCLA’s academic expectations are more flexible than they actually are. In reality, those cases are exceptions – not evidence that the standards are looser – and applicants should not approach the process assuming they will be the exception. We mean, that’s just a bad way to build a strategy.

The truth is that we rarely know the full context behind those outlier decisions. Some of those students may be recruited athletes, first-generation applicants, or students from under-resourced schools whose academic records are being interpreted in context. Others may have unusual life experiences that shaped their application in ways the numbers alone cannot capture. Every selective university ends up with a handful of these atypical profiles in its admitted class, but those cases are not representative of how the vast majority of decisions are made, and statistically speaking, most applicants should not assume they fall into that category.

Considerations

This is the section of the Common Data Set where the data stops telling the entire story. UCLA certainly evaluates measurable academic indicators like GPA and course rigor, but those factors primarily determine whether a student is prepared for the university’s academic demands. Beyond those bars, admissions officers consider a broader set of “considerations” that are far more subjective. This is where strategy, positioning, and telling a story with your application begin to matter much more. Let’s start with academics:

Key Takeaways for Academic Factors:

• UCLA wants you getting the best grades possible in the hardest classes your school offers

• Class rank doesn’t matter to UCLA

• As mentioned, UCLA doesn’t use test scores in their admissions decisions

Key Takeaways for Nonacademic Factors:

• UCLA does not track demonstrated interest

• UCLA (and the UCs in general) care a lot about having work experience and volunteer work on your resume

• First-gen students have a slight advantage

• Legacy status, interviews, and religious affiliation do not matter to UCLA

On the nonacademic side, some elements of an application are simply fact, and you ������’t (and shouldn’t) do anything to ‘fix’ them. Geographic background or first-generation status, for example, are straightforward pieces of information in your file. But many of the qualities admissions offices care about most, things like character, intellectual curiosity, creativity, or how you spend your time outside of school, ��Dz�’t come with a clear scoring system. Admissions readers piece together those traits by looking across the entire application, looking at your Personal Insight Questions, activities, and the overall story that emerges from the file. You can be intentional about how you present yourself, but interpretation ultimately rests with the admissions committee.

A note on extracurriculars: for students who are genuinely competitive at UCLA, especially those out-of-state applicants or those pursuing selective majors, surface-level involvement and resume padding will not work. The strongest applicants aren’t simply collecting clubs or filling their activity lists with disconnected commitments. Instead, they tend to invest deeply in a smaller number of pursuits that reflect genuine curiosity and sustained effort. Their activities connect in meaningful ways and reveal a clear sense of direction. Admissions officers are often looking for depth, continuity, and originality rather than sheer quantity. Helping students build that kind of intentional profile, one where interests, achievements, and goals reinforce each other, is a core part of the work we do every year.

Conclusion

By this point, it should be clear that UCLA sits among the most competitive public universities in the country. The acceptance rate alone hints at that reality, but the numbers we’ve walked through paint a more useful picture of what selectivity at UCLA actually looks like in practice.

That said, admissions outcomes are never determined by statistics alone. Data can reveal patterns (typical academic ranges, application volume, yield behavior, etc.), but it ������’t fully explain how UCLA evaluates individual applicants, and it certainly doesn’t capture everything that makes a student compelling. When we work with students, whether they’re targeting competitive majors, applying from out of state, or simply trying to position themselves well within a massive applicant pool, we never use a one-size-fits-all approach. Every strategy is built around the student’s specific strengths, interests, and long-term goals. There’s no guaranteed path to UCLA, but there are smart ways to shape an application so that it reads clearly and purposefully. Our job is to help students build a profile that stands out in one of the largest and most competitive applicant pools in the country.

One way to increase your odds? Working with college consultants who are experts in the field and have a high rate of success getting students into UCLA. We help countless students gain admission to top universities every single year – reach out to us today to get started. 

To do that, we start with a familiar resource: the , or CDS. Most U.S. colleges and universities complete this standardized report to ensure consistent disclosure to organizations like U.S. News & World Report, the College Board, and Peterson’s. The CDS contains dozens of sections, but for our purposes, we’re focusing on just one section of : first-time, first-year admissions.

Trend Spotting: Five Years of Carnegie Mellon Admissions

Before drilling into the most recent cycle, it’s important to zoom out and examine CMU’s broader admissions arc. After a post-Covid spike in admissions across RD and ED, CMU has sort of… stabilized. They haven’t seen much variation in the past few years:

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: Because CMU has been consistent, you have a better picture of your odds for the coming cycles

When you apply to Carnegie Mellon, you’re competing against a pool of applicants who are not just strong on paper but often highly specialized. Especially for students targeting programs like computer science, engineering, or design, strategic positioning matters a ton.

C1: First-Time, First-Year Admission, Applications

Let’s take a closer look at how applications break down, including differences by gender:

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Key Takeaways for Acceptance Rates:

• Yield is a lot lower than we imagined it would be – but a lot of students targeting CMU are probably targeting other highly competitive business and STEM-focused schools

• Women have a significant advantage at CMU

• CMU admitting a decent amount of “another gender” students is a) higher than most all other schools, b) in line with their overall philosophy, c) woke as hell and we love it

Carnegie Mellon is undeniably competitive, but what matters most is grounding your strategy in actual data rather than reputation alone. Without clear benchmarks and transparency around who gets admitted, it’s difficult to accurately assess where you stand or how to apply most effectively.

Early Decision

Applicants in the CMU ED pool have historically enjoyed higher admit rates than those applying Regular Decision, though that advantage has narrowed as more students pursue the early route. We’re no longer rocking the 25%+ ED admit rates of the late 2010s:

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: This ED rate is not that much higher than RD, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a smart strategic move. While ED is never a guarantee, students who are already strong fits may benefit from applying early.

Regular Decision

The CDS does not explicitly list Regular Decision acceptance rates, but we can estimate them by subtracting ED numbers from overall totals. These estimates aren’t exact, but they’re reliable enough to inform strategy:

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: The vast majority of Carnegie Mellon’s class is admitted through Regular Decision, but RD is somewhat more competitive than ED. If CMU is your clear first choice and your application is already very strong, applying Early Decision is often the most strategic option.

Waitlist

While many universities keep waitlist data under wraps, Carnegie Mellon gives us the numbers. And they are kind of shocking:

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: CMU waitlists a lot of students, and accepts very few. We think this is pretty odd for a school with such a low yield rate.

When students get waitlisted, reactions tend to swing wildly. Some interpret it as a rejection in disguise; others treat it as a near-acceptance. That’s not quite it. A waitlist decision means CMU believes you could succeed there, but they just ��Dz�’t currently have room. Movement happens unpredictably and in small numbers, but it does happen. We help students navigate CMU waitlists every year, and if you need help getting off the CMU waitlist, we can help.

C9-C2: First-Time, First-Year Profile, or Scores and Grades

Carnegie Mellon currently allows students to apply test-optional, but that should not be read as a signal that scores are unimportant. Across higher education, institutions are paying closer attention to student performance after enrollment, and many have observed that students admitted without test scores often struggle academically. That trend has already pushed some schools back toward testing requirements. For now, CMU remains test-optional, something that makes sense with their admissions philosophy, but strong scores still matter.

Even in a test-optional environment, the data is revealing. Looking at how many students submit scores (and how competitive those scores are) offers a window into CMU’s academic expectations.

Breakdown of enrolled students who submitted test scores:

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters: A significant majority (3/4ths) of enrolled students submitted standardized test scores, a higher proportion than many elite non-Ivy peers. SAT submissions outnumber ACT submissions, but CMU does not care for one more than the other.

Now, let’s take a look at the score breakdowns for each section of the ACT and SAT:

Why This Matters: With middle-50% ranges clustered at the very top of the scale, applicants should generally aim for at least a 1550 or 35 to stand out.

First-time, first-year students with scores in each range:

Standardized Test Score Takeaways:

• The median CMU enrollee posts extremely strong scores, even within an already elite pool

• Because these numbers reflect enrolled students, many non-enrolling admits likely had even higher scores

• Submitting a low score can meaningfully hurt your application

• A verrrrrry small number of students fall outside these ranges, but those cases should absolutely not guide your strategy

To be a serious contender at Carnegie Mellon, your academic profile needs to be exceptionally strong. Scores that place you near the top nationally may still sit toward the lower end of CMU’s admitted range. The same logic follows for GPA and class rank: 98% of first time, first year freshmen submitted their GPAs and the average GPA submitted was 3.89.

Key GPA Takeaways:

• Anything meaningfully below a near-perfect GPA weakens an application, even though the spread looks more generous, the average GPA is still a 3.89

• Students reporting GPAs under 3.75 are true statistical outliers

Key Class Rank Takeaways:

• Most enrolled students graduate near the top of their high school class

• A ton more students submitted rank than we normally see

• As class rank drops, admission odds decline sharply

Before anyone spirals, let’s be very clear: the tiny fraction of admitted students with lower scores are exceptions. They are not evidence of flexible standards. We ��Dz�’t know who those students are or what circumstances shaped their outcomes. Some may be first-generation students (a category CMU cares a lot about), applicants from under-resourced schools, or individuals with extraordinary life contexts we cannot even fathom. You cannot build a strategy around becoming an exception.

TL;DR: If you want the strongest possible shot at CMU, you need perfect-as-possible grades and scores.

Considerations

This is the section of the Common Data Set where things stop being tidy and start becoming interpretive. CMU absolutely weighs concrete academic indicators, like coursework rigor, grades, and (when submitted) test scores, but those are only the foundation. Layered on top is a set of broader “considerations” that ��Dz�’t come with a formula or checklist. These subjective factors are where thoughtful strategy matters most.

Key Takeaways for Academic Factors:

• CMU cares deeply about you taking the hardest classes and getting the best grades possible

• Test scores are very important if you submit them

Key Takeaways for Nonacademic Factors:

• CMU does not track demonstrated interest

• CMU does not care about legacy status

• Volunteer work is very important to CMU!

Some nonacademic elements are straightforward. Geographic background or first-generation status are factual details. Others are far more nuanced. Traits like intellectual curiosity, creativity, or talent ������’t be quantified. Admissions officers infer them by reading across your entire application – essays, recommendations, activities, and overall voice. You can be intentional in how you present yourself, but you ������’t fully control interpretation. Ultimately, CMU is reading for fit, which means you should also be asking whether your interests and personality genuinely align with the campus culture.

This is also where extracurriculars really matter. For applicants who are truly competitive at CMU, surface-level involvement ������’t enough. The strongest applications aren’t padded with random clubs or generic leadership roles. Instead, standout students go deep in a small number of pursuits, often in ways that feel technical, intentional, and sometimes unconventional and unique. Especially for our STEM hopefuls, this is crucial. Their activities tell a coherent story about how they think and what drives them. Depth, continuity, and originality matter here, and helping students build that kind of profile is exactly what we do every year.

Conclusion

There’s no question that Carnegie Mellon is extremely selective. By now, you should have a better understanding of what competitiveness at CMU actually looks like beyond reputation alone.

That said, admissions decisions aren’t made by spreadsheets. Data can reveal patterns and thresholds, but it ������’t fully capture CMU’s priorities, and it certainly ������’t define you. When we work with students, whether they’re applying Early Decision, Regular Decision, or navigating specialized programs, our approach is never the exact same. Every strategy is built around the student’s specific interests, strengths, and goals. There’s no guaranteed formula for getting into Carnegie Mellon – but there are smart, strategic choices that can significantly strengthen how your application is read.

One way to increase your odds? Working with college consultants who are experts in the field and have a high rate of success getting students into Carnegie Mellon. We help countless students gain admission to top universities every single year – reach out to us today to get started. 

To do that, we turn to the , or CDS. Most colleges and universities in the U.S. complete this standardized report so organizations like U.S. News & World Report, the College Board, and Peterson’s can compare schools using consistent information. The CDS covers a lot of ground, but for our purposes, we’re going to focus on one specific section of : first-time, first-year admissions.

Trend Spotting: Five Years of Notre Dame Admissions

Before getting into the specifics of this year’s data, let’s take a step back and look at the bigger picture at Notre Dame. The pattern is familiar: more students are applying each cycle, and the percentage admitted continues to lower.

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Key Takeaways for Trend Data:

• ND is only getting more competitive each year, with less open spots and more applicants every cycle

• Almost 10k more people applied in 2025 than in 2021

Notre Dame is intensely competitive. To rise above the nearly 30k other applicants, you have to differentiate yourself. This is an application pool of driven, high-performing applicants who already check the obvious boxes. So what can you do? Well, step one is clearing the academic bar – because at this level, being solid on paper is assumed, not impressive. And it might be higher than you expect.

C1: First-Time, First-Year Admission, Applications

Before getting into the grades and scores of it all, here’s how the numbers break down for first-time, first-year applicants in the 2024–2025 cycle:

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers.

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers.

Key Takeaways for Acceptance Rates:

• ND is very evenly split across gender, even in application numbers. This surprises us due to ND’s “work-hard, play-hard” vibe, which primarily attracts young men, and the trend of more women pursuing a college education than men

• They have a higher yield rate than a lot of their peer institutions – over 60% puts them in the same league as Ivies like Columbia, Brown, and Cornell

Notre Dame is undeniably selective, with an acceptance rate that’s slowly on it’s way to sub-10%. You probably know that already, though we’re sure that for some parents, that reality still feels very different from how the school looked a few decades ago. Either way, it’s hard to build a smart, intentional admissions strategy without a clear sense of how competitive the pool actually is or what successful applicants tend to look like. That’s where the data becomes genuinely useful.

Now, normally, this is where we’d put ED and RD data, but for some reason, Notre Dame does Restricted Early Action, which is non-binding, but limits where students can apply EA and bans them from applying ED. The CDS doesn’t require them to publish how many students are accepted through REA. Which, btw, we hate. Knowing how many students are accepted REA helps students form solid strategy, and why wouldn’t you want kids who want to go to your school knowing that info? Come on, Notre Dame!!!!!

Waitlist

Thankfully, unlike some peer schools, ND gives us their waitlist data:

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters:  ND doesn’t waitlist many students, and very few get off the waitlist. However, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. We help students get off the waitlist and into ND every year, and we can help you too.

Getting placed on the waitlist can mess with your head. Some students read it as a polite no, while others convince themselves it’s basically a yes that just hasn’t happened yet, and neither is quite accurate. A waitlist decision at Notre Dame means the admissions office believes you could thrive there; they just ��Dz�’t have the space right now – and you can tell that’s legit because of how few students they waitlist to begin with. Openings tend to appear unevenly and in small batches, but movement can happen.

C9-C2: First-Time, First-Year Profile, or Scores and Grades

Notre Dame is currently test-optional, but let’s be very clear about what that does not mean. It does not mean test scores are irrelevant. In today’s admissions landscape, “optional” really translates to “here’s an opportunity for you to give us another reason to let you in.” And Notre Dame will use that information if you choose to submit it. Many colleges have started walking back test-optional policies after seeing that students who enroll without scores sometimes struggle more once coursework ramps up. Notre Dame hasn’t reversed course (yet) but the message is still obvious – academic strength matters, a lot!

Even when testing ������’t required, the enrollment data tends to tell the real story. If a meaningful portion of the incoming class is submitting SAT or ACT scores, that’s a strong signal that those results still carry weight in the evaluation process. In other words, if your scores help you, Notre Dame wants to see them.

Breakdown of enrolled students who submitted test scores:

*Denotes our own calculation based on the raw numbers

Why This Matters:  While ND doesn’t give us the percentage of enrolled students who submitted scores, based on the numbers from that incoming class – it’s a little less than half. But test optional doesn’t really mean optional – you should submit, especially with a strong score.

Now, let’s take a look at the score breakdowns for each section of the ACT and SAT:

Why This Matters: To be competitive for ND, having a 1500+ or a 34+ is mandatory.

First-time, first-year students with scores in each range

Standardized Test Score Takeaways:

• Their 50th percentile scores are in the 98th-99th percentile nationwide

• Because these numbers reflect enrolled students, plenty of admits who chose other schools likely posted even higher results

• ND has less variation than we’d expect – especially for a school that cares about legacy and sports. That means standards are high across the board

Scores that look excellent in a national context can still land you on the lower end of Notre Dame’s usual admit range, which surprises a lot of families. You see the same pattern when you look at class rank as well:

Key Class Rank Takeaways:

• Most enrolled students come from the top 10th of their graduating class

• Class rank is often not reported by high schools, and ND ������’t telling us how many enrollees submitted class rank

• No students enrolled (who reported class rank) were in their HS’s bottom half

Before anyone starts pointing to a random stat and saying, “See? Someone got in with this,” let’s reset expectations. Those tiny slivers of lower numbers represent extreme edge cases, not a usable blueprint. We have no idea who those students are or what circumstances shaped their admission. They might be recruited athletes or legacies. They might be first-generation students. They might attend severely under-resourced schools, hold national-level distinctions, or bring context that could never be presented in a data table. The bottom line is that you cannot game admissions by studying the anomalies, and trying to do so is a losing strategy.

TL;DR: If Notre Dame is your target, your plan should assume near-perfect grades and the strongest test scores you’re capable of earning. Anything less puts you in a much riskier position.

Considerations

This is where the Common Data Set stops feeling tidy and starts feeling human. Yes, Notre Dame weighs the concrete academic pieces – course rigor, GPA, and test scores when provided – but those alone ��Dz�’t determine outcomes. Layered on top are broader “considerations” that aren’t easily measured and ��Dz�’t come with a formula. While we love the numbers, we also love this part. Because this is where your story, presentation, and positioning suddenly matter a lot. Let’s start with academics:

Key Takeaways for Academic Factors:

• Notre Dame expects students to challenge themselves with the toughest curriculum their high school offers

• Submit strong scores if you have them

• Many schools ��Dz�’t report class rank, so its absence won’t automatically count against you

• A GPA hovering as close to a 4.0 as possible puts you in the strongest academic posture

Key Takeaways for Nonacademic Factors:

• ND does not pay attention to demonstrated interest

• Going to a Catholic HS or being raised Catholic will help you with Notre Dame

• Legacy and first-gen both play a role in admissions

• Volunteer work is super important to ND, which is in line with their Catholic values

Some nonacademic factors are simply baked in: geography, legacy connections, that kind of thing. Those details live in your file whether you like it or not, and there’s zero upside to spiraling over them. Where things get more fluid are traits like character, skill, and talent. Those aren’t measured on a scale. Admissions officers are assembling impressions from your essays, recommendations, activities, and the overall feel of your application. You ������’t dictate how they interpret you, but you can decide what evidence you give them and whether it genuinely aligns with Notre Dame’s values, mission, and campus culture.

And let’s be clear: extracurriculars are doing far more than just checking a box at Notre Dame. They really care about how you spend your time outside the classroom. This is where you differentiate yourself – because the strongest applicants aren’t dabbling in everything under the sun. They’re investing deeply in a small number of pursuits, demonstrating leadership, momentum, and purpose that naturally connect to their academic interests, worldview, or long-term goals. Especially for students interested in niche or competitive programs. Building that kind of focused, intentional profile is exactly what we help students do every year.

Conclusion

Notre Dame is highly selective. That part ������’t news. What is useful is having a clearer, more concrete understanding of what competitiveness actually looks like, so you’re not guessing or applying based on vibes alone.

That said, there’s no spreadsheet that guarantees admission. Numbers can outline the academic neighborhood you need to be in, but they ������’t capture Notre Dame’s priorities or who you are as a person. When we work with students – whether they’re applying REA, RD, pursuing specialized programs, coming in as recruits, or navigating complex circumstances – there’s no cookie-cutter strategy. The strongest plans are always personalized, built around the student’s interests, strengths, voice, and direction. There’s no universal formula for getting into Notre Dame. But there are smart, intentional choices that meaningfully change how your application is read, and we can help you make them

One way to increase your odds? Working with college consultants who are experts in the field and have a high rate of success getting students into Notre Dame. We help countless students gain admission to top universities every single year – reach out to us today to get started. 

Simultaneously, Northwestern has prioritized early applicants. Last year, Northwestern admitted of the first-year class in the early admissions pool. That is a massive investment in decreasing their acceptance rate, and it has implications for the waitlist.

Applicants get in off of the waitlist when accepted students choose not to attend. When such a large portion of the class is accepted through a binding application option, there are typically many fewer spots left open after the commitment deadline. We see this in the waitlist numbers that Northwestern makes available.  

For the pool of students applying to enter as first-years in the Fall of 2024, were accepted off of the waitlist. Northwestern did not share the number of students they had offered a spot on the waitlist, nor the number who chose to join the waitlist from that pool. One year earlier, for the Fall of 2023, were accepted off of the waitlist. Looking further back, those two years were fairly representative. For the fall of 2022, students were accepted off of the waitlist. Another year further back, it was . 

This wouldn’t be such frustrating news if there were only a few hundred students on the Northwestern waitlist. Since Northwestern does not include any other waitlist data in their Common Data Set reports, we ������’t be certain about how many students are sitting on the waitlist hoping for a spot. However, when we look at comparably competitive and sized universities they have, at minimum, 1,200 students on the waitlist. If we use that minimum as an estimate, the waitlist acceptance rate is about (or less than) 5%.

What this means for you is that you need to do more than simply sit on the waitlist. Getting into Northwestern off of the waitlist is possible, but it is also far from probable. To increase your odds, there are steps you need to take basically immediately. So, let’s get started.

We help strong students defy the waitlist odds. Contact us to learn more.  

Northwestern doesn’t make a ton of information about their waitlist public, but they have historically provided guidance high school counselors. Even though this ������’t written for a student reader, it’s still helpful in determining next steps, perhaps even more helpful as it’s written to a peer (a fellow counselor) as opposed to a disappointed applicant.

Step One: Get on the Waitlist

First, you need to get on the waitlist. Receiving a waitlist offer is not the same as actually being on the Northwestern waitlist. If you want to stay in the running for acceptance, you need to keep your application in the ring.  

If you’ve been holding off on joining the waitlist and are now worries that you missed your chance, take a deep breath. In the letter to high school counselors that Northwestern sent last year, in March 2025, that the deadline to accept the waitlist offer was May 1, or nationwide decision day. They also emphasize that the waitlist is not ranked, and your response time does not impact your chances of getting in — to a point. If you wait weeks to respond, they may notice. But taking a few days to consider the waitlist offer is thoughtfulness, not a lack of enthusiasm.  

Step Two: Set Your Backup Plan

Once you are officially on the Northwestern waitlist, you need to make sure that you have a college to call your academic home in the fall. As we’ve shown, the waitlist odds are long at Northwestern. Betting on getting in off of the Northwestern waitlist is a terrible idea. So, you need to commit.  

Look at your options — the acceptances you have on the ‘table’ — and pick the best option for you. Hopefully, this is a school you really like. If you ��Dz�’t have an option you are in love with, though, you still need to pick a school. Planning on transferring is fine, but choosing to reapply instead of committing now is a very bad idea. 

Step Three: Update Northwestern

Once you have committed to a college that ������’t Northwestern, you need to increase your odds of getting into the university you really want to be a part of. Northwestern waitlisted applicants to “write if they’re still keen on Northwestern.” So, you should jump on this opportunity. But what should you send?

We advise that students on the Northwestern waitlist write a Letter of Continued Interest, or LOCI, to both underline your enthusiasm and update your application. This is how it should go…

Opening

This is a letter, so it should start like one. Begin with “Dear Northwestern Admissions Team,” or something like that, and then write a three or four-sentence introduction that includes a few key things: your name, status as a waitlisted applicant, prospective major, and that Northwestern remains your first-choice school. You also need to set out your intentions with this letter, i.e., to update them on what you’ve been up to since initially applying and to reinforce your interest in Northwestern.

Update

We like to lead the LOCI for Northwestern with an update. They know that you like the school — you are writing a LOCI, after all — but there are things about you that they ��Dz�’t know either because they were left out of your application or because they have happened since you pressed submit.

Aim to include 2-4 updates that are ‘substantive.’ This means that they are not simply a strong grade on a math test. Rather, we want you to include updates that speak to bigger undertakings or initiatives. Bonus points if you can also include things that speak to your role in your community and how you prioritize teamwork.

Reinforce

After your update, you need to write a short paragraph that emphasizes the strength of your interest in Northwestern. We like to do this by focusing on a small number of things that are unique to Northwestern and that are relevant to your proposed course of study. This may be a professor doing research you love, a program that builds on research you are already conducting, or a focus within a major that is hard to find anywhere else.  

Close

This letter needs to be no more than one-page, seriously, so the conclusion is going to have to be pretty quick to make it all fit. Like the intro, you’re going to write two to four sentences that need to accomplish a few things: thank the readers for their time, state clearly that you will attend if accepted, and maybe include cheerful optimistic vision of yourself as part of the Northwestern community.

You ��Dz�’t need to rush to write the LOCI, because they won’t seriously consider it until mid-April at the earliest. If something big does happen after sending the LOCI, email your additional update to the admissions contact email, or upload it through the Applicant Status Portal.

Step Four: Wait it out.

Once you’ve submitted your update, it’s truly only a waiting game. Keep an eye on your email for requests to reconfirm interest, and enjoy your senior spring. In , students who committed to join the Northwestern waitlist before April 15 were asked to reconfirm their interest in early May. If you receive that request and do not recommit, you will lose your spot.  

As you wait to hear from Northwestern, remember that students accepted off of the waitlist defer their enrollment to take a gap year.

Getting in off of the waitlist is hard, but we help students pull it off. Email us to learn more.

In this post, we break down what juniors interested in physics absolutely must be doing outside of the classroom to increase their chances of admission to a dream school with an out-of-this-world physics program like MIT, Stanford, Harvard, UCLA, Princeton, Mich, Caltech, UChicago, Harvey Mudd, or Berkeley.

Before you dive in, let’s accept the assumption that you already have super strong tests scores and grades. When applying to top schools, it doesn’t matter what you do outside of the classroom if your transcript ������’t exceptional. We ������’t think of a single moment where you should trade a strong grade for an impressive activity. If you see anything on the list below and think, “that would make up for my weak grade in X,” you are wrong. Grades come first, so invest in extra study time and tutoring before you fill up your calendar with extracurriculars.

Getting into a top school requires an outstanding package. Learn how we help students build their personal application package.

As a student focused on physics, you need to tune your activities to your precise interest. Simply pursuing generic STEM activities doesn’t accomplish what you need. Instead, the secret ingredient is to make it personal. Each step of the way, and for each of the buckets we’ve outlined below, take every opportunity to lean into what you love and explore your curiosities. 

SCIENCE OLYMPIAD/QUIZ BOWL

This is the most ‘big picture’ STEM activity that you should pursue with a physics degree in mind. However, it still allows for specialization. Science Olympiad and Quiz Bowl teams often have specialized members — and that’s where you’ll fit in. You get to focus on the niche of physics you love, while also engaging with a group of passionate learners.

There is something we love even more about Science Olympiad or Quiz Bowl, though. Yes, showing off how much you know is fun, but so is leadership! Being a member of one of these groups is a fabulous opportunity to lead. If you have not already been part of a team, it’s not realistic to expect to join and then nearly immediately get the top a leadership role. That doesn’t mean that you ������’t get a leadership role, though. Look for something that has room for making an impact, like leading new member recruiting or creating learning opportunities for your teammates.  

If you have been an active member of an academic team, you should already been on your way to a top spot. It’s worth scheduling a conversation with your faculty advisor, though, to ensure that you are headed in the right direction to be seriously considered for the team captain or club head role next year.

RESEARCH

Since you likely have limited access to physics courses at school, it is extremely important that you pursue independent research that digs into the area(s) of physics that you are most fascinated by, from outer space to aquatic environments. There has to be a point to the research though, and that typically means publication or presentation.

It may sound a little brutal, but putting research on your application without publication or presentation is sort of a downer. The fact that your work has been published, or presented to an informed audience, underlines that you are doing work that is of academic merit, not simply messing about after school.

As a junior, there is probably something that you are already researching, even informally. Now, just make it official. We recommend reaching out to local professors or graduate students interested in the area, too, to see if they have a potential need for an assistant in their work. 

SCIENCE FAIRS

One of the flashiest ways of checking off the “presentation” requirement we mentioned above is through doing a science fair. There are so many science fairs, from school programs to national and international behemoths. While we love for our students to go for the most prestigious and intense opportunities, that actually ������’t necessary for the experience to positively impact your college application package.

What we do want our students to be able to highlight, though, is hands on work. In order for a project to do everything it can for you, it ������’t be simply theoretical. There must be a practical aspect to it that you can write about, bringing your hard work to life. This is where storytelling is so meaningful and important. If you ������’t tell a story that inspires and excites the reader, even great successes have a way of falling flat on college applications.

A science fair project is also something that can be tackled with a friend, so if the idea of doing a science fair during the stress of junior year is too much there are ways to make it more manageable.

SUMMER JOB

This last one may come as a surprise to many students, and their parents. We want to see you work.

Yes, it’s time to get a job. During the summer after junior year, you should have a summer job or full-time internship that engages with physics and with people. This could be working as a counselor at a science or STEM summer camp, or interpreting displays for visitors at a local science museum. There are many more options than this, obviously, but any job or internship must check these boxes: 

• You must work as part of a team.

• You must be customer facing.

• You must be doing something within spitting distance of physics.

Those are the only three rules. Work with people, to help people, with physics in mind. We aren’t going to say that it’s simple, but it also ������’t hard. So, brush up your resume — or write your first one — and start pounding the pavement looking for opportunities. Many places that ��Dz�’t advertise that they are hiring, or open to high schoolers, are real options if you can have face-to-face conversations.  

If you want to study physics in college at a top school, it ������’t just about being a strong student. They also want to see that you are a strong community member who works well with others. They want to know that you will give even more to the school than you take away from your experience, and that means showing how you are already benefiting those around you. So, get to work.

College admissions doesn’t need to be stressful. Learn more.

Get the Grades

When looking at elite colleges, the first thing you need is excellent grades. There is really no way around it. You will need an unweighted 4.0 or very close to it to be considered a strong applicant. At Rice, 89% of admitted students come from the top tenth of their high school graduating classes, meaning they aren’t just looking for good grades; they are also looking for strong transcripts. They want applicants who are challenging themselves in their classes. This means signing up for Honors, IB, AP, Accelerated, and/or Dual Enrollment courses. You want to take as many challenging classes as you can while still maintaining a high GPA. The highest level math and science classes are the bare minimum for engineers.

Rice is currently test-optional, but submitting strong scores will help your application. Last year, around 70% of applicants submitted test scores, and if we had to guess, it might even be higher for hopeful engineers. We generally recommend submitting scores (even at test-optional schools), and you should be shooting for around or higher than the 50th percentile of submitted scores. Last year, that was a 1540 on the SAT or a 35 on the ACT. These are impressive scores, but if you can get similar or ideally higher, it will help your overall application.

Build a Niche

Brown has . It should be clear which one you are pursuing. Rice makes you choose an intended major (with two backups); however, even if they didn’t, your resume and academic history should make it obvious what you want to study. By defining and pursuing your academic interests, you can establish what we call an academic niche. The better your history of involvement with your academic passions, the stronger of a niche you will have and the stronger a candidate you will be. Rice is looking for academically serious and committed applicants, and there are a couple of ways to help define that niche.

Courses and Reading

The first step in building a niche is learning as much as you can about your academic interests. We recommend starting that journey by simply reading books. You ��Dz�’t need to be an English major to read, and there are many books about engineering and STEM fields out there. These are great resources. While you can supplement your reading with podcasts, scientific journals, etc., some books should 100% be on your reading list. Books will make you better at speaking and writing about your academic interests and will start to build the kind of knowledge base that you need to craft a strong niche.

Another great first step is taking online classes. Many universities offer pre-tapped, often free, courses through platforms like Coursera. You can also check for community college classes and university summer programs. Taking a class outside of your normal school day builds a history of academic curiosity and enrichment. Again, these are your basic building blocks and will be expanded on.

In-School Extracurriculars

Your application should tell a story; part of that story should be intentionally chosen clubs and activities. Your clubs should connect to and prop up your academic niche. Popular clubs for future engineers include robotics teams, science Olympiads, mathletes, STEM tutoring clubs, solar car teams, computer science societies, etc., depending on your niche. If your school doesn’t have these types of STEM-based clubs, ask about starting one.

But, simply signing up for clubs ������’t enough for Rice. You need to commit to the activities that mean the most to you. You should be spending time and effort on these clubs. Ideally, you should also try to take on leadership roles in your clubs.

Out-of-School Extracurriculars

Just like your in-school activities should be connected to your academic interests, your out-of-school extracurriculars should be strategically chosen. You can (and should) do out-of-school extracurriculars all year long. However, maximizing your summers is especially important to building a Rice-level resume. Starting freshman year, we routinely work with students to ensure their summers are strategically planned.

There are a lot of opportunities that can help build impressive summers, but for Rice-level applicants, summers will likely include a mix of research, internships, and academic programs. These activities should also be connected to your academic interests. For example, internships might be at tech companies, science museums, STEM foundations, etc. Finding the right opportunities can be a little tricky. If you don't know where to start, we can help.

Build Something Cool

Show off your real-world skills by building something cool. Engineers need hands-on skills; whether you program or fabricate, show off what you can do. We have previously worked with applicants who have built drones, apps, solar panels, computers, robots, and so much more. You can really make anything, and we can help you! Follow what you are passionate about. If you have to learn some new skills, all the better. Challenge yourself and see what you can make!

Apply Early

While Rice’s overall acceptance rate is around 8%, its ED acceptance rate is actually higher. Last year, it was around 16%. If you are a qualified applicant, ED is your best chance at getting in. You need to heavily consider applying early if Rice is one of your top schools. You should have a strategic plan for application season, and that includes an ED choice. Especially for our rising seniors, you need to make a plan. Dates will come up faster than you think!

Rice is an elite school, and its engineering school is popular. This means hopeful Rice engineers need to be competitive. You need to put the work in and start planning. If you ��Dz�’t know where to start, we've got you covered!

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